


Quidditch, Romance, and Near Death Experiences

by thanku4urlove



Series: Hogwarts AU [1]
Category: Hey! Say! JUMP, Johnny's Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Boggarts, Centaurs, Established Relationship, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Hippogriffs, Hogwarts Inter-House Friendships, Hogwarts Inter-House Relationships, Love Potion/Spell, M/M, Originally Posted on LiveJournal, POV Alternating, Pining, Pygmy Puffs, Quidditch, Secret Relationship, Triwizard Tournament, Tutoring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-07 21:28:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 69,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20824079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thanku4urlove/pseuds/thanku4urlove
Summary: It's the wave of a wand, and dust blown off the cover of a spellbook. It's learning incantations and kicking off the ground on a broomstick. It's magic. It's a new year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, full of Quidditch, romance, and near death experiences.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (casually pukes all over the summary of this fic) Uhh so this is what I created for National Novel Writing Month of 2016!

The platform outside King’s Cross Station was hot, nearly to an uncharacteristic degree, the summer air blowing over Keito’s face and playing with his hair. He resisted the urge to roll his sleeves up to his shoulders though, already feeling extremely underdressed in his simple jeans and t-shirt next to his father, who was all suited up, his hair pulled back into a bun. There were people everywhere, bustling about and chattering, giving hugs and kisses to loved ones, but Keito barely noticed, a strange mix of excited nerves humming in his chest. He was more than ready to go back to school, to learn and to see his friends again, but a small twinge of sadness sparked in his chest as he glanced back up at his father.

“Have you got everything?” Kenichi asked, looking over his son and his belongings, and Keito nodded. His old owl Pablo was asleep in his cage--he was asleep more often than not these days--and everything else he hoped he would need, from his wand to his robes to his dragonskin gloves, was packed away in his painfully heavy trunk.

“I think so. Don’t you need to go?” Keito asked him, pulling his father’s arm closer to look at his watch. In less than five minutes, his father and a few other department heads had a meeting with the Minister of Magic. The meeting was important, some top-tier and classified Ministry business that his father hadn’t disclosed.

“Nah.” His father chuckled, waving an arm. “Tamori can wait.”

Keito just gave him a disbelieving look, getting a laugh in response. Keito didn’t know anyone else that would just say Morita Kazuyoshi could wait on him to see his son off to school. But his father had that casual type of approach to his job, qualified enough to feel comfortable and well-known enough to get stopped in the streets by witches and wizards every once in awhile. Keito didn’t want to make his father late for anything, but he knew better than to argue; he’d met the Minister a number of times, but Kenichi knew him much better, and therefore probably knew what boundaries were safe to push.

People began to board the train, Kenichi letting out a small sigh before smiling, pulling Keito in for a tight hug.

“See you next summer, Keito. Be good.”

“Wait.” Keito pulled back a little, frowning. “Next summer? Won’t I be coming home for Christmas?”

“You could, but you won’t want to.” That was nice and cryptic but Kenichi didn’t explain, just grinning, mussing up Keito’s hair a little, and giving his usual farewell. “Raise a little hell for me, alright?”

Keito gave a little nod and with that, he was on the train to Hogwarts. He was heading into his fourth year of school at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a member of the Gryffindor house, something his father, a Gryffindor too, had been immensely proud of. He genuinely loved Hogwarts, and enjoyed going back every year to learn, expanding his personal library of spells and strengthening his friendships. He kept an eye out for Yuto and Yamada while boarding, or even Daiki, but he wasn’t able to find any of them, simply sliding into an empty seat as the Express began to move from the station. He wasn't too worried, or even surprised; the train was packed, and he knew that once he arrived at the school it would be much easier to see everyone, and to find them. He sat there for a moment, looking out the window and watching as the city turned rapidly into thick, blurred spanses of trees. He felt quite unsure of what to do with himself, when his compartment door opened and he was met with a cheerful voice.

“Keito!” Yuto was beaming at him, coming in and closing the door behind himself. Keito smiled back at his best friend, scooting over to make some room on his seat.

“I couldn’t find you earlier.” Keito explained, Yuto nodding a bit.

“Yeah, I was with Yamada, but then Daiki dragged him away.” Yuto waved a hand, Keito nodding in understanding. After helping Yamada and Keito himself with a few moves in their flying class during their first year, Daiki had become a close friend to both of them. Their senior Gryffindor seemed to have taken a strong likening to Yamada, however. “So! How did the last month of your summer go?”

Keito smiled, launching the story of the past few weeks. He and Yuto had sent owls back and forth all summer, but Keito had spent the month of July with his father in Bulgaria for a Ministry assignment. Kenichi and his team had been sent in to bust an extensive dragon egg smuggling ring, and while Keito hadn’t taken part in any of that action of course, he’d still been given the opportunity to see a fascinating amount of creatures, dragons in particular. As terrifying as it could sometimes be, Keito loved accompanying his father when he could.

Yuto was wide-eyed and open-mouthed throughout the story, Keito fully enjoying the amazement on his face when he finished his tale.

“I can’t compete with that!” He protested once Keito had asked to hear about the end of his summer too.

“But I want to know!” Keito insisted, and Yuto sighed.

“Alright. I went to flight camp.”

“That sounds like fun!” Keito insisted, nudging Yuto’s side with his elbow. Keito himself had a hard time even staying on a broom, but Yuto was a completely different story. He loved flying, and had heavily invested himself in learning the inner workings of how Quidditch was played, and learning technique. As a result, he had been approached by the captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team at the end of the previous year, asking him to please try out for the team. Yuto was extremely excited about it, and Keito was excited for him.

“Yeah, I had a good time. I learned some new tricks, so that will be fun.” Yuto grinned, launching into explanations of the moves that Keito tried his best to understand. He came away from it not quite sure he got it, despite his friend’s best efforts.

“There you guys are!” Their compartment door opened again, Yamada entering and hopping into the seat across from them. He was beaming, his eyes bright, a small box in his hands.

“Hey!” Yuto said, Keito quietly greeting him. “Where did Daiki go?”

“He went to get snacks.” Yamada said dismissively, much too preoccupied by what he was holding. “I want to show you guys the present that Daiki got me.”

“A present, huh?” Yuto waggled his eyebrows in Yamada’s direction, getting a giggly “shut up” in response. He opened the box, mumbling something about it being wrapped before and pulling out a small handheld mirror, with a long handle and intricate white frame.

“...what is it?” Keito finally asked.

“A mirror!” Yamada exclaimed excitedly, and after a few moments of silence he explained further. “It’s a two-way mirror. When we look into it at the same time we can talk to each other.”

“Woah, really?” Yuto asked in excitement, holding a hand out to ask for the object. Yamada handed it over, Yuto staring into it for a moment. “Oh! Daiki! Hi!”

Keito heard Daiki’s laughter, leaning over Yuto’s shoulder to look into the mirror. He was met with the sight of Daiki’s face, a little too close and at an unflattering angle, obviously walking through the train aisle.

“Yuto! Keito! Where are you guys?” Daiki asked, looking down his nose at them, Yuto telling him before passing the mirror over to Yamada’s grabby hands. The smile Yamada was wearing had Keito sending a glance over at Yuto, and the two of them shared a look. They were near positive Yamada and Daiki liked each other, but couldn’t think of why either of them hadn't made any moves or professed a desire to be together yet. Keito didn’t know if he should be concerned or not about that, so he simply said nothing, and Yuto didn’t speak up either.

Keito heard Daiki’s voice from outside their compartment, getting louder as the Gryffindor sixth year grew closer. Then he was there, opening the door and beaming at them all.

“I have some sweets!” He announced, and sure enough his arms were full, sitting down next to Yamada and dumping all of the food onto the seat. It was a gargantuan amount, a sound of delighted surprise coming from Yuto’s lips as they looked over the pile. Daiki just grinned at them, saying they were for sharing, Keito thanking Daiki and reaching for a pumpkin pasty. Yuto soon followed suit, and before long they were all snacking, Daiki launching into an amusing tale.

“...and after that, after all of that…”

Keito’s face hurt from laughing by the time Daiki’s tale was reaching it’s end, both Yamada and Yuto collapsed in giggles, Yamada leaning heavily on Daiki’s shoulder

“Daisuke didn’t even tell me anything! He just let me know that something’s happening at Hogwarts this year.”

“My father said the same thing!” Keito exclaimed, pointing. “Well, sort of. He told me I wouldn’t want to go home for Christmas this year, for some reason.”

“His brother and your dad both work for the Ministry, so it looks like the Ministry of Magic is planning something at Hogwarts this year.” Yuto said with a shrug, and Yamada nodded. They swapped ideas and outlandish conspiracy theories, chatting casually throughout the rest of the ride as Daiki’s pile of snacks steadily disappeared. Before Keito realized it, they had arrived at Hogwarts.

“Our robes!” Yuto exclaimed suddenly as the train began to slow, the brakes grinding against the rails. “We’re supposed to have our robes on!”

Daiki gave a laugh when he realized Yuto was right; they had all forgotten that they were supposed to change during the ride, into the black Hogwarts robes they wore throughout the school year. With their trunks all at other seats, Keito’s friends quickly excused themselves, Yamada promising he would save Keito a seat on their carriage as they hurried out. Knowing time was of the essence, Keito changed quickly, tugging the black fabric over his head as the train came to a stop with a note of finality.

Daiki, Yuto, and Yamada must have been in a train compartment closer to the front of the locomotive because when he stepped outside they were already off the Express, standing by a carriage. There was a boy standing with them, a young Gryffindor student Keito recognized as Nakajima Kento, who was by now approaching his third year. Keito only knew who he was because Kento had become a slight annoyance over the past semester, vying very hard for Yamada’s attention for reasons none of them ever managed to figure out. Kento wasn't talking to Yamada this time though, his body turned entirely in Yuto’s direction, Keito amused to see that Yamada looked slightly put out by it. Kento was called away by some friends before Keito entered earshot, quickly scurrying away.

Keito didn't have the chance to ask about it however, the carriages already beginning their journey up to the school. The four of them quickly piled into one, Keito barely able to close the door before the carriage began to move.

The carriages were black, lit headlamps on the front, their tops left open due to the fair weather. Keito had been told they were pulled by invisible horses, and invisible they definitely were--if not for the sounds of hooves ahead of them, Keito would have assumed they were being pulled by pure magic. Dusk fell as they approached Hogwarts, excitement welling in Keito’s stomach as the sky went dark. Finally, the carriages came to a stop, and they had arrived at the glorious castle.

Takaki heaved a long and silent sigh, letting his head rest for a moment on Yabu’s shoulder before straightening back up. Yabu patted Takaki’s knee comfortingly, watching the front of the Great Hall as a wide-eyed eleven year old was sorted, scurrying over to the Ravenclaw table.

“Why can’t we eat dinner while the sorting happens?” Takaki groaned quietly, looking mournfully down at the long Hufflepuff table, laden with empty golden plates. “This is taking forever. I’m so hungry.”

“It’s almost over.” Yabu lied. They were about halfway through the crowd of new first years, though a good amount of them had already been directed to their Hufflepuff table. There were more new students than in years past, Yabu noticed, but not by too much.

“Do you have any snacks on you?” Takaki asked after a few more seconds, and Yabu held in a laugh, giving his boyfriend an amused smile.

“You know I don’t.” He answered, and Takaki pouted at him before turning his attention back to the front. Yabu took the opportunity to look over Takaki’s face, over his dyed brown hair that was getting a little too long, over his jaw and nose and eyebrows, his gaze catching on Takaki’s eyes. Takaki turned back, perhaps feeling him staring, sending back a questioning expression.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Yabu felt his face burn in embarrassment, from the tips of his ears to the base of his neck.

“Shut up.” He muttered, trying to watch the Sorting Hat, seeing a grin on his boyfriend’s face out of the corner of his eye.

“Kota--”

“You’re not supposed to be disruptive during the Sorting ceremony. I’ll report you.”

“Whatever you say, Mister Head Boy.” Takaki sounded incredibly amused, blowing a small kiss in Yabu’s direction.

“Five points from Hufflepuff.” Was all Yabu could say, grumbling, feeling his cheeks flare up again. Takaki barked out a laugh at loud enough to draw a few looks, disguising it rather poorly as a cough and glancing down at the table until everyone had looked away.

Two new Ravenclaws, a Gryffindor, and a Slytherin later, the Sorting ceremony was over. A small babble of voices began to grow throughout the Great Hall, dying back down as Headmaster Kitagawa got to his feet.

“I know YOU must be hungry, so I will not be long.” He raised his arms, and the candles floating immediately by his head drifted upwards to join all the others hanging in the high ceiling. “Welcome. Enjoy the feast.”

Food appeared on the golden plates in front of them, Takaki making a delighted sound and digging in so quickly that Yabu was afraid he might hurt himself. The food was delicious, as it always was, Yabu using the opportunity to look out at all the new faces seated around them. He ended up catching the eye of a lanky fourth year boy, who gave him a bright smile and a wave. Yabu smiled back, and Nakajima Yuto returned to his meal, and to his conversation with the Hufflepuffs around him.

Yuto was a boy Yabu had seen around a few times, bright and talkative, and somewhere halfway through the year he’d looked out the window to see him on a broomstick, practicing turns and dives. Unfortunately Quidditch tryouts had already passed for the year, but Yabu approached him anyway, asking him to consider trying out for the team. Yabu was the captain and the Keeper for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and since he had finally arrived at his last year at Hogwarts, he desperately wanted this year to win the Quidditch House Cup.

Yabu was painfully full by the time the feast was over, Headmaster Kitagawa getting to his feet as the food disappeared from the plates. Yabu sighed a little, his mind already past the closing remarks, trying to mentally prepare himself for the task of directing the newcomers to the Hufflepuff common room and how hectic that was bound to be. Instead of sending them on their way however, the old man cleared his throat and declared,

“I have a few rather… Exciting announcements to make.”

The chatter died down as everyone turned their attention to the headmaster. He went through the things Yabu expected, about how the Forbidden Forest was, as its name suggested, forbidden, as well as was Hogsmeade to the first and second years. There was a small aside about leaving toys like screaming yo-yos and fanged frisbees at home, reminding students that they were a few of the many knick knacks banned on school grounds. Instead of a following bid of goodnight however, a small smile grew on the Headmaster’s face, launching into his final announcement.

“Now, as a few of you may have already heard--though I suppose many of you have not--there will be an activity going on at Hogwarts this year, beginning in October and continuing through the rest of the school year. It has occurred many times in the past, and after having been canceled, unfortunately, due to outside influences, it has been approved now to begin again. It is my pleasure to announce that this year, Hogwarts will be hosting the Triwizard Tournament.”


	2. Chapter 2

The name “Triwizard Tournament” was familiar to Yabu, though he couldn’t put a finger on what the event was; many students knew though, an excited buzz going through the Great Hall. Kitagawa let them chatter amongst themselves for a moment, raising a hand for the sound to die down before speaking again.

“As I can see, many are aware of what this tournament is, but for those who do not, let me explain. It is an ancient, friendly competition between three wizarding schools: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. The competition is to be held every five years, with the schools taking turns on who hosts it. There is one champion selected from each school, and these three champions take part in three magical tasks. It is an excellent way to establish worldwide connections, and while there has been trouble maintaining the tournament over the years, with updated rules and regulations, it has been agreed to be given another try.”

“I wonder what happened.” Takaki muttered to Yabu, sounding slightly concerned. Yabu just shrugged.

“Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be bringing their eligible contenders to Hogwarts in October, and the selection of the champions will take place on Halloween. The prize will be, of course, bragging rights, the honor of their school, and one thousand Galleons in prize money.”

That brought a loud amount of a talk between the students, excitement traveling throughout the Great Hall in waves.

“As the tasks are incredibly difficult and dangerous, requiring a high level and understanding of magic, if YOU are a student under seventeen years of age, YOU will not be permitted to enter.” Kitagawa declared, having to raise his voice a bit as the excitement from the underage students turned to protests. “I will be personally ensuring that no one under seventeen is able to submit their names for consideration.”

“Hey, we could do that.” Yabu murmured to Takaki, who gave a snort of laughter. Takaki did not look interested at all in entering, but Yabu couldn’t help but admit that he was. While difficult and dangerous, sure, there was something incredibly compelling about winning a thousand Galleons. Besides, Yabu figured; he had taken Professor Ninomiya’s Potions O.W.L, and he couldn’t think of anything that could be much more difficult or dangerous than that.

“And with that, I bid YOU goodnight. Sleep well, and enjoy your classes tomorrow morning.”

Talk exploded exponentially once Headmaster Kitagawa had finished and taken a step back, and as part of his Head Boy duties, Yabu was now in charge of rounding up all of the Hufflepuff first years and showing them to the common room, as well as demonstrating how to enter. It was like herding cats, and Takaki helped him collect them all up, waving an arm and requesting that all the eleven year olds please follow him. Thankfully they didn't have to walk far; Hufflepuff common room was the closest common room to the Great Hall, on the right down the hallway from the kitchens. He led them to a stack of barrels and asked them to crowd around, Takaki bringing up a few stragglers.

“Alright!” Yabu said, pulling out his wand. “Does everyone here know the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff’s theme?”

He was met with a majority of headshakes, only a few nods, and he suppressed a sigh.

“Well, learn it. Stick with people who know, and don’t hesitate to ask for help, okay?” He turned towards the barrels, pointing to the one two from the bottom, in the middle of the second row.

“To reveal the entrance, simply tap the rhythm on this barrel. If you mess it up you won’t be able to enter, and will have to wait for someone to help you in, so be careful.” He tapped the barrel as loudly as he could to demonstrate, the lid swinging open. He helped them into the common room, Takaki taking a seat on one of the yellow and black overstuffed couches while Yabu showed the first years their rooms. When that was done he was finished for the night, sitting next to Takaki with a sigh.

“Good job.” Takaki told him, reaching back to put an arm around Yabu’s shoulders.

“Thanks.” Yabu leaned in to give him a quick kiss, trying to fight back his exhaustion. He felt more drained than he thought he ought to be, but at the same time, it had been a long day.

“Are you ready for tomorrow?” Takaki asked, Yabu smiling a little.

“Sure.” He answered dismissively, laying his head on Takaki’s shoulder and closing his eyes. He hadn’t seen anywhere near enough of Takaki over the summer and he had missed this, Takaki giving him an affectionate chuckle and kissing the top of his head. Yabu would be content with just sitting here, at his second home and in this honey-colored common room, on the worn couch and in Takaki’s arms.

Yamada could feel Keito’s eyes on him as he removed his contacts, and when he straightened up, even though Keito was now a blurry mass, he could still see the slightly mortified expression on his friend’s face.

“How many times now have you watched me take my contacts out?” He asked, amused, and Keito just shook his head, that familiar concerned and borderline disbelieving expression on his face as Yamada sat back on his bed. They were in the Gryffindor common room, getting ready for bed. Keito and Yamada had slept in beds next to each other since their first night at Hogwarts, and ended up walking to their classes together, which ended up being a good thing; Yamada had a feeling that without him, Keito would have found himself lost in the castle more often than not. They were together often, but were more of casual acquaintances until Yuto had met Keito and cemented their friendship.

Watching Yuto and Keito become friends had been incredibly amusing to Yamada. For him, he and Yuto had already been friends all throughout grade school, going to the same institution and put into the same classes when they were kids. Yamada’s Hogwarts letter had been an incredible surprise, with no one else in his family able to do magic, but Yuto--who was a half-blood, Yamada learned it was called--was immensely excited, introducing him to this entire magical world he’d never known existed. The Nakajimas had been incredibly helpful to their family, showing them everything from where to buy his books to how to board the train.

“I thought you were a muggle!” Yuto had told him on the train ride. “I’m so glad we get to go to Hogwarts together.”

About a week in, Yamada was trying to tell Yuto about Keito when he gasped.

“Okamoto? Like Okamoto Kenichi’s son?”

“No idea.” Yamada had responded, and Yuto had gone on to gush about someone in the Ministry of Magic with the coolest job in the world, doing the same ranting when he and Keito met, with Keito silent and completely pink faced. But Yuto had been able to break Keito out of his shell, and now that the long and stuttering of a process was complete, the three of them were incredibly close.

“The Triwizard Tournament must have been what my dad was talking about.” Keito said. “When he told me I wouldn’t want to come home for Christmas.”

Yamada nodded. The announcement was exciting, and as a result he wasn’t feeling nearly as tired as he should be.

“Daiki’s brother too.” He said. “I wonder who our school’s champion is going to be?”

Keito just shrugged, Yamada laughing a little. He didn’t know many upperclassmen, anyone in sixth or seventh year that would be able to put forth their name. He laid down, turning his light off in the hopes that the darkness would bring him some drowsiness.

“Are you ready for classes tomorrow?” Keito asked.

“I guess.” Yamada responded. They wouldn’t know their exact schedules until the next morning; they knew what classes they’d signed up for, but not when in the week they were happening. “As long as we don’t have Potions first thing in the morning this year, I think I’ll be able to survive.”

Keito chuckled lightly in the darkness. They’d had Potions in the mornings last year, and trying to cook up concoctions while half asleep had proved dangerous.

“I’m a little worried about Divination, but at least Yuto will be there.” Keito said. In all honesty, Yamada was worried about Divination too and he wasn’t even in the class; he’d just heard stories about Professor Shibutani from his friends.

But Keito and Yuto didn’t have Divination until Tuesday, finding out at breakfast that all three of them had Herbology together in about fifteen minutes. They hurried with the other Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs down to greenhouse three, met with a batch of thick, black, and slug-like plants called a bubotubers. They were tasked with emptying the bubotuber pods of their pus while Professor Joshima told them about all the important--and highly corrosive and painful--magical properties the pus had. While not exactly fun, per se, class wasn’t without excitement. Near the end Keito volunteered to being their full pail up to the front and tripped, saved very narrowly from splashing it all down his front as a few fellow Gryffindors rushed forward to steady him. He sloshed only a small bit onto the floor instead, burning a hole in his shoe.

They parted ways once class was over, Yuto and Keito heading back to the castle while Yamada continued down the grounds and to the hut of the groundskeeper. His Care of Magical creatures class took place on the grounds in front of the hut, bordering the Forbidden Forest. They were greeted by the sight of Professor Ohno, standing in front of his hut, his hands on his hips as he watched all of the students approaching. There was usually some kind of fence or tank set up, where they would see whatever creature it was they would be taught about that day. Today though, all Professor Ohno had with him was what Yamada assumed was a crate, covered in a cloth.

“Get excited.” He told them, once class had officially began. He didn’t particularly sound excited himself, but excitement from Professor Ohno was a rare occurrence. “I was approached with a project idea, and after getting permission from the Headmaster, I’ve decided to go ahead with it.”

“You’re giving us a project?” Hashimoto Ryosuke piped up from the back. There was a collective sigh when Ohno nodded. Then he removed the sheet covering the crate at his feet, and the sighs turned into sounds of delight.

The mesh metal container was filled nearly to bursting with small squeaking balls of fluff. They came in just about every color, all mixed together, and Ohno raised his voice to regain the class’ attention.

“Pygmy puffs.” He declared. “You all will be caring for your own personal pygmy puff for six weeks. Of course, you will be required to keep a log of the things you feed them and record their sleeping patterns. Don’t worry too much; they are relatively easy to care for. If you wish to officially adopt your pygmy puff when the project is over, make sure you come talk to me.”

The little balls of fluff were distributed, Yamada ending up with his hands full of a pink one. It squeaked at him, and he couldn’t help his smile; its hair was rather soft, but it stuck straight out, making them nearly completely circular, a small head and four little legs poking out of the mass. Its face was almost rodent-like but less pointed, with large eyes. It made it’s way up Yamada’s arm and nestled into his neck, and they spent the rest of the class learning about them, like what they ate--which was just about everything, as it turned out--and other ways to care for them. Nobody was really listening though, everyone caught up on what they wanted to name theirs. Yamada’s ended up falling asleep, making a small, purring type of snore, and Yamada moved it gently from his shoulder to his pocket, letting it continue to nap.

“It looks like you!” Daiki insisted when Yamada pulled the pygmy puff out at lunch to show him off. Yamada looked down at the creature with a laugh, unsure of whether or not to be offended.

“How?”

“It’s adorable!” Was Daiki’s answer, and he picked the fluff up, still snoozing, petting its tiny head. “Our Care of Magical Creatures class isn’t doing this project. I want one.”

Yamada’s chest was tight with some high, nervous feeling that Daiki was notorious for giving him whenever he got compliments, and he bit his bottom lip to hold in a smile.

“I have to care for it for six weeks, but you can help me if you want to.”

Daiki beamed at that, and that was when the little pygmy woke, squealing in high pitched surprise and leaping from Daiki’s hands. Daiki shouted in alarm and the pygmy puff landed on the table, its claws skidding across the wood as it ran to Yamada and jumped into his lap.

“It doesn’t like me.” Daiki said, Yamada chuckling and shaking his head, meeting Daiki’s eyes.

“Don’t worry, he will.”

“Now, you will throw your raw egg to the floor. Let it fall as it will, and when it does, be careful not to disturb it; the slightest of movements could mean the difference between losing all of your socks, or losing all of your toes. Not that I have to worry about that.”

Professor Shibutani chuckled, prancing a little at his own quip, and Yuto sent Keito an incredulous look, though if it was about the joke or about the raw egg fortune telling--called ovomancy, they had been told--Keito wasn’t sure.

“Okay!” Shibutani exclaimed, clapping his hands. “Get started! Use the chart in your books.”

“...we’re dropping eggs on the floor.” Keito said once chatter in the room had started up, and Yuto nodded, laughing at the expression on Keito’s face. “We’re dropping eggs on the floor, and looking at the yolks.”

Yuto nodded, still giggling, and Keito could barely believe it; they’d done some implausible things in the class, sure, like reading tea leaves and using star charts to tell the future, but this egg catastrophe was on a whole new level.

His father had laughed for nearly half an hour when Keito told him he’d be taking Divination--as well as Muggle Studies--when elective options opened up. Keito wasn’t taking Divination because he believed in it though, only here because Yuto had begged someone to take it with him. And Yuto himself had only taken Divination because the professor was a centaur. Professor Shibutani was half man, half horse, and it was incredible to watch him do just about anything, from teaching to walking around the classroom, his red painted hooves loud against the lofty wooden tower floor.

“You ready?” Yuto asked through giggles, holding up one of the six eggs they had from a basket in the middle of their table.

“Sure.” Keito said, wincing a little as Yuto let the egg go. It cracked loudly on impact, the insides spilling out onto the floor. Professor Shibutani walked up to them, shaking his head and clicking his tongue.

“Not a clean break.” He said. “I see turmoil ahead; a curse disguised as a blessing.”

Yuto gave a solemn, pseudo-serious nod, choking back giggles again as soon as the teacher walked away. He jotted down what Shibutani said to him, and then it was Keito’s turn.

His egg fell open evenly, the shell splitting completely in half instead of splintering.

“Okay.” Yuto opened his book, standing over Keito's egg. “It’s a little… Lumpy on one side, and kind of diamond-shaped, so…” He squinted back and forth between the egg on the floor and the book in his hands. “You're about to experience some unbalance in your life, but…” He frowned, turning his head to look at the egg upside down. “It's either going to make you smile, or get you eaten by the giant squid. I can't tell.”

That had Keito laughing too, opening his book to the egg chart as Yuto picked up his second egg, smashing it on the floor.


	3. Chapter 3

Keito and Yuto were still talking about the ovomancy come dinner time, about all of the possible sudden and violent deaths possible that Yuto’s third egg had hypothesised for him, taking seats at the Hufflepuff table.

“Maybe I’ll fall off my broom during my Quidditch tryout.” Yuto guessed, piling food on his plate. The tryout was on Friday, and Yuto was painfully excited about it.

“Maybe we’ll both be eaten by the giant squid.” Keito suggested, Yuto nodding with a laugh.

“You’re eating what?” Came a voice behind them. Yamada and Daiki walked up, Daiki looking concerned. They took seats across the table and Keito began to explain, getting cut off a few words in as Yuto’s face lit up and he waved, asking a loud question over Keito’s head.

“Do you want to sit with us?”

Keito glanced over to who Yuto was gesturing to and seeing a group of four other students, three of them obviously older and the last one of them extremely tiny. Keito only recognized one of them, the tallest boy with a Head Boy badge pinned to the front of his robes. That one was the one Yuto was waving at it seemed, giving Yuto a familiar smile and nodded. The two with Hufflepuff robes sat on Yuto’s other side, and the other two boys, the older Ravenclaw and the tiny Slytherin student sitting together on Yamada’s other side.

“This is Yabu Kota… Right?” Yuto said in an attempt to introduce the newcomers, and the tall and skinny student nodded and laughed, waving around at them. “He’s the captain of the Quidditch team.”

The rest of them introduced themselves, the second Hufflepuff named Takaki Yuya, the Ravenclaw Inoo Kei, and the Slytherin Chinen Yuri. It was a strange conglomeration, Keito found himself thinking; Yuto had gotten enough strange looks when the four of them hung out, being a Hufflepuff in the Gryffindor common room or at the Gryffindor table. The four of them gave introductions back, and Yabu turned to Yuto.

“I’m going to see you at tryouts this weekend, right?” He asked, and Yuto nodded, beaming.

“I wouldn’t miss it.” He answered earnestly. Then a shrill squeak came from what Keito could only guess was Daiki, and everyone turned to him.

“Did everyone else hear that?” Takaki asked, and then Yamada’s hands were searching Daiki’s robes, pulling out a ball of pink fuzz about three inches in diameter.

The table was silent, staring at it as Yamada smiled. Keito had met the little creature the night beforehand, able to hold it a little and even helping Yamada find a name for it.

“Cookie! You’re awake.”

“What is it?” Chinen asked. He was leaned away from Yamada slightly, looking apprehensive, his eyes locked on the poof.

“A pygmy puff.” Yamada announced, placing it on the table. Then he turned to Daiki, sounding concerned. “Do you think I can give it green beans?”

“I don’t think you have a choice.” The pygmy puff was already fully in Yamada’s plate, and Keito could see the big eyes on the creature’s tiny face as it snuffled through the food.

“When did you get a pygmy puff?” Yuto asked.

“Yesterday! It’s for a Care of Magical Creatures project; we have to take care of them for six weeks.”

“You’re in Care of Magical Creatures too?” Chinen piped up. The puff jumped from Yamada’s plate, trying to get to Chinen’s, and he recoiled as though the harmless thing was about to bite him. Yamada nodded, taking the pink ball in his hands and looking over Chinen’s face for a moment, as though trying to place him. It surprised Keito that someone afraid of an animal so small and fluffy would choose to be in the Care of Magical Creatures class.

“You’re not in my class, are you?” He finally asked, and Chinen shook his head.

“I’m a third year.” The Slytherin boy explained, and that was another round of surprising information; Keito had seen first years that looked and sounded older than Chinen did. “What do you think of Professor Ohno?”

“He’s fine, I guess.” Yamada shrugged, Daiki saying,

“I heard he’s only teaching so he can live on the grounds for free.”

Chinen scrutinized the two of them for a second.

“Well I love him.” He declared. “So don’t get any ideas.”

There was a silence, Keito trying to figure out what it was they weren't supposed to get ideas about. Yuto was very loudly trying not to laugh, Takaki speaking up.

“Where’s Hikaru?”

The new crowd shrugged, and Daiki frowned slightly.

“Yaotome Hikaru? From Slytherin house?”

Yabu nodded. “Do you know him?”

“Yeah, we’re in Transfiguration class together. We were turning toucans into top hats, and he only transfigured his halfway… Professor Sakamoto wasn’t as excited about his new flying hat as the rest of the class was.”

“Don’t tell me he’s in detention already? It’s the second day of classes!” Yabu shook his head. “I can’t believe it.”

Despite his words, Yabu’s voice suggested that he could believe it quite easily, and it made Keito wonder what kind of a person Yaotome Hikaru was. He seemed like a troublemaker, but at least he sounded like a harmless one.

Then the pygmy puff jumped from Yamada’s plate and suddenly Keito was trying to juggle the creature in his hands, too startled to catch it properly and trying desperately not to drop it. Yuto broke down into giggles next to him, and as soon as the puff got a good enough grip on his clothes it jumped off again, scrambling up Yuto’s arm and perching on top of his shoulder. It greeted everyone around the table but it ended up taking quite a liking to the Hufflepuff Takaki, hiding on his shoulder and behind his hair.

“You’ve been chosen.” Inoo said with a laugh, the table chuckling while Takaki shook his head.

“I’ve heard those words in my nightmares a few times.” He said.

“About pygmy puffs?” Daiki asked.

“About the Triwizard Tournament.”

“You could just… Not put your name in.” Yuto suggested slowly, and Yabu burst into laughter.

“Hey! I know!” Takaki’s voice raised a bit in indignation, but he was smiling. “I mean, I don’t plan on it, but…”

“But gold?” Inoo prompted. Takaki shrugged.

“I mean… It would be cool, wouldn’t it?” Yabu asked, and Keito could tell he looked much more excited about the whole Triwizard thing than Takaki did.

“Are you really not entering?” Yabu couldn’t help but ask for the umpteenth time, and Takaki chuckled a little, putting his arm around Yabu’s waist as they walked.

“I mean, probably not.” He answered, and Yabu couldn’t help but grin. This was better than the flat “no” he was used to receiving; maybe he was wearing his boyfriend down. He knew Takaki didn’t want to put his name in because he felt inadequate, and he wanted to destroy that notion as much as he could. Takaki was excellent at magic when he put his mind to it, and actually had a course of study picked out--unlike Yabu himself, whose focus was “maybe something in Charms”, much to the chagrin of his professors.

“I think it would be fun!” Yabu insisted, trying to sound cute, and Takaki laughed again.

“Yeah yeah, I know.”

It was Thursday after classes, Takaki and Yabu walking from their Defense Against the Dark Arts class to the Ravenclaw common room, climbing the western spiral staircase. The meeting place for their friend group had moved to the Ravenclaw common room after Inoo joined their friend circle in Yabu, Takaki, and Inoo himself’s fifth year. Before then they’d met up in the Slytherin common room due to the Hufflepuff common room’s refusal of any non-Hufflepuff students, and Yabu was glad for the change; as much as he loved hanging out with Hikaru, he had always found the Slytherin common room a bit too cold and dreary for his liking. Besides, they were always given scrutinizing looks by the students, as though wondering why anyone from a house other than their own would want to spend time in their common room. The attitude had taken him aback at first, realizing after a few years that it was one of caution and confusion more than hostility. Students from other houses didn't come to the Slytherin common room just to hang out--many didn't befriend Slytherin students, either. Yabu was just glad they weren't in Gryffindor, or the looks would have turned into pointed questions; there was a good amount of antipathy between the Gryffindors and the Slytherins.

They reached the door with the eagle-headed knocker, watching as the bronze bird opened its mouth.

“Feed me and I grow. Give me water and I die. What am I?”

They looked at each other blankly for a second. The answer to the riddle would grant them entry, but Yabu had never once been able to get into the Ravenclaw common room on his own. He never needed to, not when they had their own inside man.

“Inoo! Let us in!” Takaki shouted while Yabu laughed, and a moment later the Ravenclaw boy opened the door for them, a completely deadpan expression on his face. He had his cat perched on his shoulder, a rumbling purr coming from the cat’s chest as Yabu gave his soft head a light scratch. The pet was a fluffy, white creature with darker brown fur on his ears, paws, tail, and around his nose. He had always been nice, if not incredibly passive around all of them, and Yabu had a strange, sneaking suspicion that somehow, Inoo and his animal were able to communicate.

“You guys should at least try to figure out the answers.” Inoo told them with a sigh as they all walked in, and Takaki shrugged back.

“Why would we when we have you?”

The Ravenclaw common room was wide and round, its large windows framed by sweeping blue and bronze curtains. The carpet was a midnight blue and emblazoned in stars, and as they walked further into the room Yabu could see Hikaru stretched out over the entire couch, despite the looks he was getting from the other Ravenclaw students. There had been some dissent when they first began coming, and at first Yabu felt bad--maybe they were being too loud or taking up too much room--but then he began noticing how much less of a problem they had whenever Hikaru wasn’t there with them, and all of his sympathy had disapparated and he simply began to glare back. He was sick and tired of having to justify being friends with a Slytherin.

“I saved us seats!” Hikaru said, a huge smile on his face, sitting up as they walked over. The common room was full of tables and chairs, but the majority of them were stiff and wooden; the couch was the single comfortable piece of furniture in the room and the most popular piece of real estate, so they always did their best to snag it before anyone else could. Hikaru sat up fast when Inoo approached, scooting as far over as the couch allowed, and Takaki and Yabu sat down first, placing Hikaru and Inoo on opposite ends of the couch. Yabu knew that Hikaru didn’t have any qualms with Inoo himself, but his cat was a different story entirely, and Yabu couldn’t figure out why his friend hated the fluffy beast so much. If anything, the cat seemed to prefer Hikaru to the rest of them, always rubbing up on his legs first. Maybe he just liked watching Hikaru squirm; Yabu sure did.

“It’s Thursday.” Hikaru said, nudging Yabu in the side with his elbow and smiling. “You know what that means.”

“That means that tomorrow I compile the Quidditch team that will beat your ass.” Yabu retorted. Tryouts were Friday, and the following day was the start of practice. “I am going to win the House Cup this year.”

The vehement conviction in his voice had the entire couch looking at him, Hikaru raising his eyebrows. Hikaru was the Seeker on the Slytherin Quidditch team, and since he’d joined Slytherin had ranked incredibly high, winning the Cup the past two years in a row. It was always an extreme cause of banter and competitiveness between them, and after Yabu’s defeat to Hikaru's team last year--Yabu’s first year being captain, no less--he was more than ready to win.

“Is the Quidditch House Cup really what’s important this year?” Inoo asked, slightly incredulous.

“Yes.” Yabu and Hikaru answered simultaneously, while Takaki laughed. Yabu had ranted to Takaki about it all summer, and he only felt a little bad about it.

“Okay, but… The Triwizard Cup is happening.” Inoo said, giving them both looks.

“But I thought you said you weren’t entering.” Piped up a voice from behind them, Yabu turning to see the young face of Chinen Yuri, his chin on his hands, his elbows resting on the back of the couch.

“When did you get in here?” Hikaru asked, giving Chinen a once over. Chinen had hung around their friend group a few times now, and he and Hikaru were in the same house, so there was a slight degree of familiarity between them. “This isn’t your common room.”

“The puzzles are fun.” Chinen said with a shrug, giving Hikaru a small look for his hypocrisy. “And once the door is open, I might as well come in.”

“He’s in here all the time.” Inoo told them all, and Yabu gave a little nod. He had seen Inoo and Chinen together before the third year had started chiming in their conversations, but he hadn’t known where he had come from, or why.

“Wait, you’re not entering?” Hikaru asked Inoo, what Chinen had said finally sinking in, the kid pulling up a chair next to their couch. “Why?

Inoo just shrugged. “I don’t really care.” He answered. “I want to watch you guys lose though.”

“Shut up.” Takaki told him with a laugh, Hikaru letting out a long sigh.

“All of you guys should enter.” He said. “Since I'm not allowed. I can’t believe I’m turning seventeen this December, but I can’t put my name in.”

“Don’t worry, Kota’s going to.” Takaki told them all, and Yabu felt extremely put on the spot, stuttering a little.

“I-I don’t know!” He told them. “I don’t want to be the only person here to do it.”

“Takaki should do it too then.” Hikaru said, looking at Takaki and raising his eyebrow.

“Do you guys know how fast the Tournament would kill me?” He told them all, slightly incredulous amusement in his voice. “It’s not like I would win.”

“Don’t say that!” Yabu protested, just as Hikaru said,

“Come on, nobody would let you die.”

“Lots of students have died in the Tournament.” Chinen said from where he was sitting. “That’s why they’ve called it off so many times. It’s okay,” He added, noticing the looks on all of their faces. “They’ve modified the rules.”

“The Headmaster wouldn’t let anything happen.” Hikaru said with a confident nod, though he didn’t sound quite as sure as he looked after Chinen’s input. “And if he was too slow--which is a possibility, I saw him take ten minutes to climb a staircase last year--then we would jump in instead. We’ll save you.”

Inoo cooed loudly, Hikaru telling him to shut up, but Yabu couldn’t help the smile on his face. Takaki was grinning too, until he realized what was happening.

“Hey! Why are you talking like I’ve already put my name in?”

“Because you should!”

Everyone nodded, and Takaki heaved a long, loud sigh.

“I will if Kota does.” He said, fixing Yabu with a look. All eyes turned to him, and Yabu felt nerves spiking in his stomach.

“...okay.” He agreed, and his friends all cheered, Takaki reaching around the back of the couch to put an arm around Yabu’s shoulders. Though truly, nothing had happened; it wasn’t even time for applying and there was no guarantee that their names would be drawn, but there was now an excited, apprehensive energy in Yabu’s chest, and he couldn’t help but smile.

Quidditch tryouts went very well the next day, much to Yabu’s relief. There was a surprisingly good turnout, and while the majority of the applicants were decent at least, not many of them had the “beat Slytherin team” pizzaz that Yabu was looking for. He had to admit, he had an eye out for the fourth year Nakajima Yuto, excited when he stepped down from the bleachers, his broom in his hand.

“What position are you here for?” Yabu asked him. Yuto’s free hand was curled into a tight fist; he was nervous.

“Chaser!” He declared, and Yabu nodded. Yuto was thin and tall; he would be able to move fast.

“Good.” Yabu threw him the Quaffle he was holding. Thankfully, Yuto caught it. “Work with Sakuma and score a goal on me.”

Yuto nodded, his face set in determination as he got on his broom and took to the air. He jetted up faster than Yabu could get on his broom, exchanging a quick look with Sakuma before following him up. He was already impressed.

For good reason, he was glad to discover. After a bit of tossing back and forth and lining up the shot, Yuto threw,Yabu just barely able to block the Quaffle with the end of his broomstick. Truth be told, the save was an accident, Yabu turning at just the right time to hit the ball away, but he played it off, awarding Yuto a position. As the sun was set on the Quidditch pitch, cold air beginning to blow, Yabu was standing in front of the six members of his new team.

“Practice starts tomorrow. Don’t be late.”


	4. Chapter 4

“It was great!” Yuto exclaimed, his face lit up brighter than the fireplace behind him, and Keito couldn’t help but smile. “We met up on the field and got to know each other first--I knew a few of them already, so that was okay--and then we separated off and I did some exercises with the two other Chasers on the team. We scored some goals on Yabu!”

He was extremely excited by that, and Yamada laughed a little. They were all in the Gryffindor common room, the three of them trying to get a head start on their weekend assignments when Yuto had burst in; whether their Hufflepuff friend knew the password or had managed to bypass the Fat Lady by sheer force of excitement, Keito didn’t know. He showed up in their common room so often that neither answer would surprise him.

“So, do you think you guys are going to win the Quidditch Cup this year?” Daiki asked, and wonder dawned on Yuto’s face, as though he hadn’t even thought that far. Being able to practice on the team had apparently been exciting enough, but the prospect of winning had him over the moon all over again.

“I hope so! Our first match is against Ravenclaw, but it isn’t until the end of November.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Daiki said, waving a dismissive hand. As the commentator for the Quidditch matches, Daiki knew the ins and outs of all the teams. According to him, Ravenclaw’s Quidditch team had been quite decent, but the vast majority of them had been seventh years, now graduated. “And you won’t even need to worry about Gryffindor. Slytherin are really the only ones that will give you a run for your money.”

Yuto nodded thoughtfully, and Yamada heaved a heavy sigh. The Gryffindor team was in an incredible spell of defeat, and expectations that their house would win any games were very low. Keito didn’t feel too strongly about it though, not caring much about the Quidditch House Cup. Yamada didn’t care much either but knew more about it, considering how much more he hung out with Daiki.

Yuto threw himself wholeheartedly into his Quidditch practices, and as a result Keito didn’t see much of him. It was alright though; they still had Herbology together, as well as Divination every Tuesday, and he would eat meals with them, though more often than not he was either scarfing down food in a hurry, or trying to get some studying in while eating. But still, Keito wasn’t alone. He had Yamada in nearly all of his classes, and for that--as well as for Daiki too--he was extremely thankful. As he did last year, he was beginning to fall behind a bit in his classes. Teachers were always more lenient during the first few weeks of term, but now that they were entering the second month of the semester, he was beginning to feel a little swamped.

“So… Instead of apparating, floo powder, or portkeys, muggles have to get in metal shuttles and hurtle through the air?” Keito asked hesitantly, and at the look on his face, both Yamada and Daiki burst out laughing.

“Well, yeah.” Daiki said, putting a hand on Keito’s shoulder. “It’s not as dangerous as it sounds when you put it like that. I mean, they hardly ever crash or anything.”

Keito wasn’t sure if he believed that at all, dipping his quill in ink. He was trying to write an essay on transportation for Muggle Studies, and since both Daiki and Yamada were muggleborns, he often asked them for help with assignments in that class. The idea of cars had been terrifying enough, but these airplane creations sounded ten times worse.

Yamada and Daiki were sitting on the couch together, every inch of their sides touching, sketching up a chart for some sort of Care of Magical Creatures assignment. Daiki was in Care of Magical Creatures class too, two years ahead of them, and was quite distraught about not having a pygmy puff of his own. They had an entire joint-custody thing going on that Keito hadn’t bothered asking about, but from what he could tell it was entirely too domestic; taking turns snuggling and watching over the fluffball, feeding it, arguing over who’s last name it--Cookie, it was called--should have. Keito did his best to tune them out as he refocused all of his efforts on his essay, wanting to get the paper finished by the end of the night. He ended up having to tune a great deal of chatter out as the month wore on, the school buzzing more and more the closer the time came for the arrivals of the other Triwizard schools and their champions.

The halls were cleaner every day, the suits of armor continuously shined up, the teachers getting more and more nervous the closer they all got to the thirtieth of October. Pumpkins were appearing on the tops of staircases and the teachers’ desks, the suits of armor taking to rattling when people walked by, scaring Keito more times than he was willing to admit. The festive Halloween decor wasn’t limited to the classrooms and hallways though, silvery cobwebs with what Keito hoped were fake spiders began growing high in corners against the dormitory walls, with bats flying across the ceiling in the Great Hall on more than one occasion. The other schools were going to get there before dinner, with a feast following, where the other headmasters would be introduced and the tournament would be explained. Much too excited, Yamada and Daiki had headed down to the Great Hall a good fifteen minutes ago, but Keito wanted to write a letter to his father first and had told them to go ahead without him.

They had been passing letters throughout the school year, and Keito was really enjoying it. He and his father usually sent each other at least a few letters throughout the semester, but this year the back and forth had been very consistent, his father wanting to know everything about what was going on with the Triwizard Tournament, despite not much of anything having happened yet. But now that the schools were arriving, and Keito wanted to at least start the letter. He jotted down a hello, responding to his father’s questions from the past letter he had sent and asking a few welfare questions of his own before he was interrupted.

There was a bellowing whinny from outside and Keito jumped, hurrying to the window. There were six winged horses standing on the castle grounds, so large they looked to be the size of elephants, their coats a shimmering yellow gold and their hair stark white against the darkening sky. A round carriage was parked next to them, and Keito realized with a jolt that whatever was going on with the arrivals of the other schools, he was missing it.

He exited the portrait hole quickly, dashing down the stairs. He completely forgot about the trick step in his haste, the stair third from the bottom of the staircase. As soon as his left foot touched the carpeted floor he felt his leg sink down, having to grip the rail tightly to keep the rest of his body from hurtling down the stairs. He’d spent a good amount of time his first year with at least one of his legs trapped in this stair, if not both, and he cursed himself for forgetting to jump it, reaching into his robes for his wand. A cold stone of disbelief fell into his stomach as his hands found empty pockets, realizing that he’d left the common room too quickly, and that his wand was sitting on the table next to his Divination chart; he’d needed it to siphon up ink that had spilled over his project, and now he was stuck in the staircase, with warm chatter coming from the Great Hall, just out of reach. A witch in bright violet robes cackled and pointed at him from the portrait against the wall next to him, and he gave her a look that just made her laugh harder.

“You’re a little too old to be tricked by a fake step, aren’t you?”

There was a voice from his left and Keito looking over, already embarrassed, to see an older Slytherin student walking towards him with a small smile on his lips.

“I… Yeah.” Keito looked down at his feet, giving a little laugh in an attempt to curb the burning feeling in his cheeks. His leg was starting to ache. “This happens a lot.”

The Slytherin chuckled, and the sound was comforting somehow, the boy crossing his arms and raising his eyebrow. His hair was dark and a little on the long side, his bangs swept out of his eyes. Keito could feel his leg slowly sinking further and further into the staircase, up to his knee by the time the newcomer spoke up again.

“So… Are you just in there for the good of your health, or…?”

“No, uh…” Keito gave him an apologetic little smile. “Could you help me?”

“Oh!” His eyes went wide for a moment and he rushed forward, his hands hovering over Keito’s shoulders, clearly unsure of what to do. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you needed help.”

“I left my wand in the common room.” Keito explained. He was too far from either side of the staircase to use either of the banisters for leverage to escape on his own, but even if he were he wasn’t confident that he had the strength needed to yank himself free, considering just how sunken in he had become. After an embarrassing amount of pulling from the both of them, Keito was finally able to wrench his leg out from the trick step. He lost his balance instantly, shouting as he pitched forward. The stranger let out a light curse and reached out, wrapping one strong arm around Keito’s waist, grabbing the banister tightly with his other hand and catching the both of them. They stood still for a moment, swaying slightly, and once Keito had come to terms with the fact that he hadn’t just cracked his head open on the bottom step, he realized with a jolt that his body was resting completely against the older student’s chest, his cheeks flaring up. The witch in the violet robes gave a loud wolf-whistle and Keito was past mortified, but the Slytherin simply chuckled slightly as Keito found his balance again and straightened up. He let out a long breath as Keito made it gingerly down the remaining two stairs, brushing his hair out of his face and leaning against the banister.

“Thank you so much.” Keito said earnestly. Now that he was free he remembered why he’d been in such a hurry in the first place; whatever had happened with the incoming schools, both of them had missed it. If it weren’t for him, the boy wouldn’t have been as late as he was now. His savior looked over his face for a moment, crossing his arms.

“So, what’s your name?” He asked. He wasn’t irritated, as Keito half expected, or annoyed; his expression was one Keito felt he could have mistaken for fondness, if they hadn’t been such complete strangers. Maybe it was amusement. Either way, it put a strange, warm feeling in Keito’s chest.

“Okamoto Keito.” Keito supplied, and the Slytherin nodded.

“Yaotome Hikaru.” He returned, and Keito didn’t realize he’d heard the name before until they had already separated, Hikaru going one way to the Slytherin table after entering the Great Hall and Keito going the other. Yuto’s Quidditch captain knew someone of that name, if he was remembering correctly, mentioning him back when they’d all had dinner together.

“Where were you?” Yamada asked, breaking Keito from his train of thought. His friends had saved him room at the table and he sat quickly, as not to stand out. The feast was already underway. “You missed everything.”

“I, uh… I got stuck in the staircase.” Keito confessed, and Daiki laughed loudly. Yamada just gave him a slightly exasperated look before continuing, his tone picking up in excitement as he talked.

“The Beauxbatons students arrived first.” He said, pointing. “They’re the ones in the blue robes.”

Keito craned his neck to look where his friend was indicating, spotting some fifteen-odd students dressed in light periwinkle blue, scattered about the Ravenclaw table.

“They have these huge flying horses.” Daiki said, picking up the story, holding out his arms in an attempt to illustrate just how large the beasts were. Those must have been the palomino horses Keito had seen from the window, belonging to Beauxbatons Academy. “They were pulling this giant circular carriage--”

“--like in Cinderella.” Yamada cut in, getting a nod from Daiki and a blank look from Keito himself. He had no idea where Cinderella was, or what happened in it. “It was amazing!”

“And flying made sense as a way to get here, so we were looking out in the sky for Durmstrang to appear--the students in the red, by the way--”

Keito had seen the conglomeration of red robes already, all sitting together with the Slytherins.

“--when a huge ship mast exploded from the lake!”

“The lake?” Keito echoed. Both Daiki and Yamada nodded vigorously at him, and Keito couldn’t help but smile at their dramatic excitement. It would have been fun, sure, but Keito couldn’t find himself to regret his misstep on the staircase, sending a quick glance to the Slytherin table.

“Aren’t the Durmstrang students cool?” Daiki asked, seeing where he was looking, and Keito turned pink in the face, glancing at his plate.

“What, are any of the new ones cute?” Yamada teased before turning around to look as well, peering exaggeratedly around a few of the floating jack-’o-lanterns, which caused Daiki to stab at his broccoli a little harder than necessary.

“I… No.” The Durmstrang students weren’t really who he was looking at.

Once the feast was over the Headmaster Kitagawa thanked them for coming and said goodnight to them all, chatter increasing exponentially as people began to get up and disperse. Keito had expected more talking to occur, Daiki seeing the look on his face and explaining.

“He introduced everyone and went over everything before the meal.” He said, getting to his feet and stretching. “All day tomorrow people can put their names in, and then tomorrow night after dinner the drawing is going to happen.”

“Wait, put their name in what?” Keito asked, Yamada’s mouth opening in surprise as he realized there was more that Keito had missed.

“It’s this huge goblet.” He explained. “The Goblet of Fire! It has an age ring, and… I’m not sure how a cup is supposed to actually pick people, but… It’s wooden, and it’s in that jeweled casket up there.”

He pointed and Keito looked, seeing the container Yamada was talking about and wondering what the cup inside looked like.

“Hey!” Yuto was rushing at them through the crowd, a ball of happy energy as he all but bumped into Keito’s side, unable to stop himself in time. Keito caught him, feeling a bit concerned.

“What?” He asked. Yuto was practically vibrating in excitement.

“Yabu’s going to put his name in!” He exclaimed. “I can’t believe it!”

“Your Quidditch captain?” Yamada asked.

“How is he supposed to train you guys if he’s going to spend the school year fighting for his life?” Daiki asked, and Yuto’s eyes went wide.

“Fighting for his life?” Yuto echoed. “He’s not going to die, is he?” His voice fell to a hush, and Yamada laughed.

Keito got the chance to actually see the students from the other schools on the following day, and from what he could tell, they were more or less normal. They stood out brilliantly against the sea of black robes that the Hogwarts students wore, easy to spot despite their small numbers; there were around thirty of them in total, the schools having sent only sent students that were of age to compete in the Tournament.

Keito, Yuto, Yamada, and Daiki spent as much time as they could in the Great Hall, because that was where the Goblet of Fire was being kept, the huge wooden cup stood up on a podium in the middle of the room. They were able to watch the challengers all put their names in, the Durmstrang students got in a line and entered their names one by one, the Beauxbatons students flitting up to the goblet in small groups. A few from every Hogwarts house put their names in for consideration and it may have been because of how interspersed and individual each of the Hogwarts entries were, but by end of the day, it didn’t seem as though their school had many potential champions.

Keito, Yuto, Yamada, and Daiki were able to watch Yuto’s Quidditch captain put his name in though, his boyfriend Takaki Yuya going up to the cup with him. They each had their names written on scraps of parchment, as well as the name of their school, reaching up at the same time and placing the slips in the goblet together, the endless flames that licked from the top of the cup quickly burning the parchment up. Yabu looked in Yuto’s direction and waved, a small, excited smile on his face.


	5. Chapter 5

Yabu could barely eat dinner the night the champions were being chosen, the nerves in his stomach making him feel much too queasy. Tonight was the drawing of the champions, and they all--the complete magnitude of the Hogwarts students, as well as the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang guests--were piled in the Great Hall to eat. Not much eating was happening though, a nervous buzz filling the room as people chatted to each other, leaving their plates untouched. Takaki however, didn’t seem too bothered, pointing to Yabu’s plate and asking if he planned on finishing it.

“Go ahead.” Yabu pushed his plate in Takaki’s direction with a bit of a frown, and Takaki looked down at it for a moment before rubbing Yabu’s back lightly.

“Are you okay?” He asked, his concerned tone making Yabu sigh.

“How are your intestines not in a complete knot right now?” he asked, and the wording of the question had Takaki’s eyes wide in alarm for a moment before he realized what Yabu meant. “You put your name in too. What if you get picked?”

“I thought you wanted to get picked.” Takaki said. “I thought that was the whole point.”

“I mean, it is, and I do, but... Wouldn’t be be scary?”

“Whatever the tasks are, you could handle it.” Takaki assured him, taking a huge bite of Yabu’s chicken. “Besides, I’m not too concerned. The cup wants to pick someone that will win, right? Which means I’m out.”

Despite himself, that made Yabu laugh, Takaki smiling and giving his shoulders a quick squeeze. The dinner food cleared away a few moments later, replaced by the wide selection of desserts. The sweets weren’t any more appetizing to him though, because all they meant was that they were one step closer to dinner being over, and once the meal was finished it would be time to choose the champions. His sentiment was shared with the rest of the room, the anticipation in the air kicking up a notch.

After what felt way too long and much too quickly all at once, all of the plates and platters cleared away, returning to their gold and pristine state. The room fell silent before Headmaster Kitagawa had finished standing, the expectancy palpable.

“Good evening, students and staff.” Kitagawa began as everyone fell silent, taking his place next to the goblet’s casket. “Tonight, as YOU are well aware, is the choosing of the champions. I will call out the names the goblet picks, and as I do so, if the selected champion could please walk up here, and enter the door to my left.” He pointed, and Yabu glanced over to see a little entrance to the left of the teacher’s table, Professor Kimura standing by it and waving to the masses.

Kitagawa tapped the jewel covered casket with his wand and it unfolded, revealing the wooden goblet inside. The room was incredibly silent, the air full of what felt like static electricity, Yabu afraid to take too deep of breaths. The goblet lit itself spontaneously, and a moment later a red spark shot from the rim of the cup, flying into the air, Headmaster Kitagawa reaching up and catching it. It was a strip of paper, one of the entries that had been submitted earlier in the day.

“The champion from Durmstrang… Kiriyama Akito!”

A student with black hair and an incredibly bright smile stood from the Slytherin table, beaming out at the rest of the Hall as he walked up, getting nods and smiles back from nearly all of the teachers as he headed in the direction of the side room. Everyone applauded, but once he had left the room the Great Hall was quiet again, one collected baited breath, waiting.

After a two minute eternity, another spark flew from the goblet. Headmaster Kitagawa nearly didn’t catch it, having to stoop slightly.  
“The Beauxbatons champion… Nikaido Takashi!”

The Beauxbatons student had a more nervous reaction--a more normal reaction, in Yabu’s opinion--as he got to his feet, getting reassuring looks from his friends as he stood, the hall ringing with applause. He walked up and disappeared into the side room, and it was Hogwarts’s turn. Yabu was so nervous he couldn’t feel his fingers, an impatient buzz going through the students. The third and final spark flew from the goblet, a smile growing on the Headmaster’s face as he glanced over at the Hufflepuff table. Yabu could feel his heart in his throat.

“And finally, the Hogwarts champion is…”

Yabu gripped Takaki’s hand and Takaki chuckled at him, giving his knuckles a quick kiss.

“...Takaki Yuya!”

Takaki’s face was blank as the Headmaster’s words took a second to register, sitting there in silent disbelief. The Hall began applauding him, but he didn't make any move to stand, his grip so tight on Yabu’s hand it was nearly painful.

“Go!” Yabu hissed in his ear, trying to give him a push to stand. “He called your name; you need to head up there.”

“...right.” Takaki’s voice was high and strangled, but he didn’t move; it took another shove before he stumbled to his feet, walking slowly to the front of the Great Hall. Headmaster Kitagawa was looking at him fondly, but Yabu didn’t think Takaki even noticed the glance, his movements painfully nervous and robotic as he disappeared from view.

Yabu was barely listening as the Hall was dismissed, a roar of conversation from all of the schools erupting around him, all talking about the champions. Most were excited, but Yabu noticed some people, more from the other schools than from Hogwarts, that were visibly angry or upset at not being chosen. Yuto exchanged a quick look with him, catching his eye for a second before he was whisked away by his friends, and then Inoo found him, his face excited. Hikaru was a bit less optimistic though, finding the two of them as the room began clearing, putting his hands on Yabu’s shoulders and giving him a shake.

“You’re about to be a widow.” He said, clapping Yabu on the back, and Inoo laughed.

“Shut up you guys.” They began walking to the Hufflepuff Common Room together, Yabu wanting to wait for Takaki’s return, his friends saying they would wait with him. Even the portraits were chattering to each other, but Yabu tried to drown them out. “He’ll be fine.”

“I wonder what they’re talking about in there.” Hikaru mused, leaning against the barrels that hid the common room entrance. “Rules and stuff, probably.”

“Maybe they’re talking about the first task. I wonder what it’ll be this time.”

“This time?” Yabu echoed, and Inoo nodded.

“I read up on it. The last time Hogwarts hosted the Triwizard Tournament, the champions had to fight dragons for the first task.” He said, and Yabu felt all of the blood drain from his face. Hikaru’s expression went blank in disbelief, letting his arms fall.

“You actually are about to be a widow.” He told Yabu again, but this time Yabu couldn’t argue. He hadn’t really given much thought to what the tasks would be, only that they would be hard. Nothing he had even fathomed considering was on the same level as combat with dragons.

“On another note though, Hikaru…” Inoo turned to their Slytherin friend, raising an eyebrow. “I’ve been meaning to ask: what happened to you a few days ago, when the other schools were arriving? You told me to save you some room in the crowd, and then you disappeared.”

“I just went to the bathroom.” Hikaru answered with a shrug, and Inoo laughed a little.

“For like fifteen minutes?” He asked. “I got my feet stepped on for you.”

Yabu would have been amused, especially with the sputtering of Hikaru’s that followed in an effort to explain away a fifteen minute bathroom break, but he was too distracted. Takaki still wasn’t back. Another twenty minutes passed before the newfound champion finally showed, walking wearily, a smile growing on his face as he saw them all standing there.

“Hey.” He said, not reacting at all to the greetings he got in response, walking straight into Yabu’s arms, Yabu holding his weight as Takaki let out a long sigh. He was bursting with questions, but he waited until Takaki pulled back to open his mouth. Thankfully, his friends were of the same sentiment, but Inoo ended up beating him to the chase and asking first.

“What happened?”

Takaki sighed again, leaning heavily against Yabu’s side, and Yabu put an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders.

“Well, the other champions were standing in there and it was quiet for a little while, but before long other people started coming in. The other schools’ headmasters, those two guys from the ministry--Imai Tsubasa from the Department of International Magical Cooperation and Matsuoka Masahiro from the Department of Magical Games and Sports--and the Headmaster of course, and Professor Kimura.”

“What did they talk to you about?”

“Uh, well.” Takaki shrugged a bit. “They’re not telling us what the first task is; apparently being able to think fast and perform under stress is something that makes a good champion. The first task isn’t until November twenty-fourth, so I have a bit of time.”

“You do!” That was a bit of good news, Hikaru clapping Takaki on the back. “You’ve got nearly a month to prepare. It’ll be great.”

After a few reassuring remarks from each of them, Inoo and Hikaru said their goodnights and departed. Yabu and Takaki entered the common room, collapsing together onto the couch.

“How do you feel?” Yabu asked. Takaki was silent for a long moment, Yabu’s heart lightening a little when his face broke into a smile.

“I just… I wasn’t expecting this at all.” He confessed, and Yabu gave him a smile back. “But… I don’t know. I think it’ll be okay.”

“It will.” Yabu told him. “We’re on your side. The entire school is supporting you.”

“I know. I mean, I’m probably going to disappoint everyone, but--”

Yabu shut him up with a kiss, Takaki giving him a surprised, questioning look in response to the sudden affection.

“Don’t say that. Don’t even worry about that; winning isn’t what’s important.”

That was a bit of a lie and they both knew it, but Takaki let him say it anyway, giving him a gentle smile and laying his head on Yabu’s shoulder.

“Just don’t let me die.” He requested, and Yabu couldn’t help but laugh.

“You won’t. I promise.”

“Are you sure we’re allowed to be here?” Keito asked Daiki hesitantly, Yamada looking up to their older friend for an answer.

“Why wouldn’t we be?” Daiki asked back, frowning slightly as they climbed the stairs of the Quidditch stands. November had blown in, the wind coming in in brief, chilling gusts, the skies grey and cloudy. The colder weather found all of them wrapped up in their coats and Gryffindor scarves, Yamada’s cheeks going pink with cold the second they’d stepped outside.

“Because we’re not Hufflepuffs.” Yamada answered. “We’re Gryffindors! They might think we’re spying for the enemy or something.”

Daiki burst out into laughter, the three of them taking seats relatively high up. The height had a heavy lump of fear dropping in Yamada’s stomach and he winced, scooting as close to Daiki as possible. Daiki accommodated him immediately, putting a comforting arm around his shoulders.

“It would take more than watching a Hufflepuff Quidditch practice session to help the Gryffindor team. They need a lot more than that.” He answered with a grin. “Plus, we’re not the only people here. Don’t worry.”

That was true; there were twenty or thirty-odd people sitting around in various seats, watching the practice happen. The three of them had come to surprise Yuto, in support of how passionate he was about the whole Quidditch thing. Yamada hadn’t been able to see him play yet, but the first Hufflepuff match wasn’t too far off, and he was eager to see what his friend was made of.

“A lot of them are Hufflepuffs though.” Keito said. The students were sitting around in groups, the colorful accents on their robes telling of what houses they belonged in. Keito was right; not only were the majority of the spectators Hufflepuffs, a large fraction of them were girls.

“No, there’s a Slytherin right over there.” Daiki countered, pointing dismissively across the pitch. After a bit of squinting Yamada saw him, in emerald green and sitting alone, almost directly across from them. He glanced back at his friends--maybe for a counterargument from Keito--but his classmate had gone pink in the face. A whistle signalled the start of practice before Yamada could ask about it, but it probably wasn’t more than the wind chill anyway.

There seemed to be a full on match simulation going on for practice, with all of the various balls out and flying through the air. Yabu was hovering in front of the three ringed goals, blocking the tosses thrown by the Chasers on the field. The two Bludgers were whizzing around, the Beaters chasing them around the field in an attempt to hit them away from the rest of their teammates. The Bludgers, in Yamada’s opinion, were the scariest part of Quidditch--aside from the height that came with being on a flying broomstick, but that went without saying--but Daiki had a strange fondness for them, having almost become a Beater for the Gryffindor team before he was approached for the commentator position for the games instead.

Yuto was good, that much Yamada could instantly tell. If for nothing else, he had acute control over his broom, and how to get it to make even the slightest of adjustments that he needed as he flew. He had confidence too and it served him well, the self-assurance putting more strength behind his throws and more speed in his broom. He was younger than the large majority of the team, but the hours of independent practice that he ate up all of his free time with kept him easily on par with the rest of his teammates.

“He’s awesome.” Yamada declared, getting nods from both of his friends.

“It looks like everyone agrees.” Daiki said, a batch of the onlookers tittering excitedly as Yuto scored ten points on Yabu, letting out a victory whoop and slapping a high five with the Chaser next to him.

“Everyone in my year is talking about him, at least.” Came a voice from behind them, all three of them turning around to see Chinen Yuri, the third year Slytherin boy that had joined them a few weeks ago for dinner. He was bundled up against the cold to an almost comedic degree, his body at least twice the size as usual from all the insulation, sitting two rows above them in the stands. Yamada had no idea how he’d managed to get up there without them noticing.

“Really?” Keito asked, surprised.

“Oh definitely, he’s the most exciting thing since Exploding Snap.” Chinen stood, dropping down a few rows of seats to sit next to Keito and pointing out into the stands. “A few of those girls were planning on asking him out after practice, I heard.”

That had Yamada’s eyebrows shooting up his forehead, Keito looking just as surprised. Daiki nodded a bit though, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Well, he is tall, kind, and handsome.” He pointed out. “Being good at Quidditch is just the nail in the coffin.”

Yamada had never really thought of it that way; to him, Yuto was still just the doofy boy he’d known since grade school. Once Yuto’s popularity had been pointed out though, Yamada began to notice it everywhere. People watched and whispered whenever they walked through the halls, or sent glances their way while they were eating in the Great Hall. It was annoying, Yamada had to admit, though the amusement he got from just how oblivious Yuto was to the whole thing made up for it a bit. Yuto would simply smile and wave at anyone he caught staring at him, watching as they--being male or female students--turned bright red and scurried away. Yamada considered telling him about it, but as it were, he didn’t end up needing to.


	6. Chapter 6

“Yutorin?” Keito asked, concern on his face as he looked up from his lunch, his eyes going to a space over Yamada’s shoulder. Daiki turned to see what it was, but before Yamada could do the same he felt a heavy weight on his shoulder, glancing over to see their tall friend, He looked dejected, his forehead planted squarely on Yamada’s shoulder and his entire body hanging limply.

“What happened?” Yamada asked, Yuto sitting down next to him. It was lunch time, a quick break between classes, and Yuto had promised to meet them, but when fifteen minutes had passed and Yuto still hadn’t shown, they started eating without him.

“I feel terrible.” Yuto responded, putting his face in his hands.

“Are you sick?” Keito asked, but Yuto shook his head, a frown on his face.

“This girl… This girl and her friend asked to talk to me after class, and I said yes, and…” Yamada could see where this was going already, wincing as Yuto recounted the tale of being asked on a date.

“And I mean, I said no, but… But her face! She looked like she was about to cry, and her friend looked like she was going to hex me…” He sighed, letting his head fall back. “I didn’t even know she liked me, honestly.”

“Yuto, everyone likes you.” Yamada couldn’t help but say, Yuto looking at him in confusion before shifting his questioning gaze to Keito, who nodded.

“They do?”

“Chinen told us. You’re...” Yamada waved a vague hand. “Popular.”

“Chinen?” Yuto simply looked baffled, and Yamada couldn’t help but laugh.

“Be careful though.” Daiki told him, his expression serious. “Professor Kimura told us about one time where he turned down a date, and she ended up cursing him with the Bat Bogey Hex. The last thing we need is bats flying out of your nose.”

Yamada wanted to give that hex a go on Professor Kimura himself though, when that night found him trying to help Keito out with the Ventus Jinx they were learning in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Despite his promise to help tutor his friend, getting blasted in the face by gusts of wind was not how he’d envisioned spending his evening, silently cursing their teacher once again when his bangs flew into his eyes, stinging.

“Sorry!” Keito exclaimed, putting his wand down, a remorseful wince on his face.

“No, no, I should have closed my eyes.” Yamada said, rubbing his eyes with one hand and waving the apology off with the other. “This is good though, I think you’ve got it.”

“Really?” Keito cast the spell again, and this time Yamada had the sense to completely turn away, his hair getting completely mussed up as papers blew up at him.

“...sorry.” Keito said again, and he sounded so genuinely apologetic that Yamada had to laugh.

“When we started you barely had a summer breeze going on. I really think you’ve got the hang of it.” Yamada insisted again, and while he was being honest, a large part of him just wanted to go to bed. He was tired, and he knew that despite the consistent energy Keito was putting forth in his attempts at the jinx, he was tired too. “Let’s clean up, we’ve made a bit of a mess.”

Things had been blown all around the common room while they’d been practicing, and as a result many of the students had gone somewhere else to study or chat, for their own safety more than anything else. Keito nodded, thanking him a few times as they went through the room, picking up stray papers, quills, and other objects that had been propelled to the floor.

“You two are still up?” Daiki was stepping down the stairs, looking concerned as he saw them. “It's late, you know.”

“Yamada was helping me out.” Keito explained, and Yamada offered a weary smile.

“Well I'll take care of this, and you two go to bed, okay?” Daiki said, taking the stack of papers Keito had in his hands. Keito thanked him, heading to bed, Yamada putting the pile of knick knacks he had picked up throughout the room on the table next to him. Daiki obviously expected him to go to bed too, raising an eyebrow when Yamada collapsed onto the couch instead, dragging his bag towards him and pulling out his near finished Transfiguration essay.

“Ryosuke…” Daiki reprimanded, sitting next to him. “You have class tomorrow morning.”

“So do you.” Yamada pointed out, fishing out a quill and a bottle of ink. Daiki couldn't much argue with that. “I'm almost done, I promise. I just have to add three more inches.”

Daiki gave him a disapproving look, shifting close to Yamada on the couch.

“Hold on, why are you down here?” Yamada had to ask, realizing that Daiki had come out of nowhere. The sixth year was suddenly very interested in his fingernails, his tone almost abashed when he answered.

“I don't know if you know, but the last time you put your two way mirror down, the angle… I can tell by looking at it if you're in bed or not.”

“You watch me sleep?” Yamada asked him, raising an eyebrow. The question was half-joking, meant to be light, but Daiki’s denial was flustered and immediate.

“No. No! I can just see your feet sometimes, that's all. And I was worried, because I know how much you need your beauty sleep.”

Then it was Yamada's turn to be indignant, opening his mouth and hitting Daiki in the chest. Daiki just chuckled, the sound affectionate and warm, and he rested his head lightly on Yamada’s shoulder. Biting his lip in an incredibly futile attempt not to smile, Yamada turned his attention back to his essay.

It was times like these with Daiki that Yamada liked the best. The still, quiet moments where nothing much was happening, but even so warmth was spreading throughout his entire body, happy comfort settled in his chest. He loved spending time with Daiki. Daiki helped him a bit with the essay, murmuring suggestions that sometimes were useful, and sometimes were things like “in conclusion, Arioka is the best”, which made him laugh. True to his word, finishing the essay didn’t take long, Yamada sighing when it was done and and letting his head fall back.

“Okay, bedtime.” Daiki insisted, getting to his feet. He looked at Yamada and put his hands on his hips, giving him an expectant look. Yamada whined a little, reaching up for Daiki to help him. Daiki took his hand, pulling him to his feet, and as soon as he was standing Daiki entwined their fingers. Yamada suddenly felt extremely awake, looking down at their hands as Daiki led the way to the staircase. He came to a stop where the staircase branched off to the separate dormitories, causing Yamada to look up at him, positive that Daiki could hear his heart beating.

“Goodnight, Ryosuke.” Daiki gave him a gentle smile, and Yamada felt a light tug in his chest, a strange sort of anticipation that was both hopeful and completely unrealistic, every inch of him wanting to step closer before the moment was broken.

Then, with a squeak, an excited pink lump of fluff emerged from Daiki’s pocket, clambering haphazardly up Daiki’s robes. They both jumped in surprise, Daiki having to let go of his hand to make sure their pygmy puff didn’t fall, laughing as it sat in his hand.

“I guess he wants to spend the night with you.” Daiki said, putting a light kiss on the creature’s tiny head before handing him over. With a small wave Daiki headed off to bed, leaving Yamada standing there feeling inexplicably nervous and slightly disappointed all at once.

The first Quidditch match of the school year was upon them; Gryffindor versus Slytherin. Keito was sandwiched between Yamada and Yuto in the stands, Yuto vibrating in excitement and Yamada latched tightly to his forearm, lamenting about how high up they were. There were an incredible amount of people watching the match; it had to be more than half of the school, with the students from the visiting schools as well. It was growing steadily chillier outside as November was coming in, but today the skies were clear, the sunshine bright but muted due to the lack of warmth.

The cold didn’t dull the energy in the slightest though, the two competing houses yelling at each other across the stands. Keito could have done without so much noise, but it only got louder when the two teams walked out onto the field, Quidditch robes on and broomsticks in hand. The Gryffindor team was announced first, the enthusiastic roars near deafening. The sounds around Keito was just as loud as the Slytherin team was announced too, though that time it took form of booing that all but drowned the cheering of the Slytherin students from his ears.

“But we have to be high up!” Yuto insisted. “You can see better from here.”

Yamada just grumbled something about death, hunching further in his seat. Then the Quaffle was thrown, and the match began.

“And Gryffindor has the Quaffle!” Daiki exclaimed, his voice magnified through the crowd and across the grounds. “An actual stroke of luck for them, which I’m excited to see. The team has what one would call 'room for improvement’ but hopefully this carries through the rest of--oh wait, Quaffle has been taken by Yuki Nozawa, now in Slytherin possession.”

It was easier to see the action from this high up, Keito had to admit, Bludgers whizzing around, the Quaffle passing hands quickly. One player caught his eye though, a Slytherin he assumed was the Seeker, hanging back from all the action and searching the field with his eyes for the Snitch.

“--and it’s past the Keeper! Ten points to Slytherin!”

The Chaser that scored tried to make a victory lap around the pitch, only to be smashed in the foot by a Bludger. Her broom spun a few times, holding the handle with one hand and her ankle with the other, and for a terrifying moment Keito was afraid she was going to fall.

“Do we need a time out?” Daiki asked, the player shaking her head and straightening up, but her foot was hanging at a slightly concerning angle. Daiki seemed to share his concern, asking once more, but at the player’s insistence they continued.

“If you're sure. Let's be courteous out there guys. Keep it a little more King of the North, a little less Queen of Dragons.”

Keito tried to keep his eyes on the action but they somehow always drifted back to the Seeker. He was staying away from the increasing messiness in the middle of the field, surveying the scene before him, flying around the outskirts. Then with a sudden burst of speed he zoomed forward, catching everyone’s attention.

“It looks like the Snitch may have been spotted! Yaotome Hikaru is in quick pursuit of something, but I genuinely can’t see what.” Daiki confessed with a slight, apologetic laugh, Keito’s heart leaping into his throat at the mention of Hikaru’s name. He had been trying, with little success, to get Hikaru from his mind; being hung up over such a small encounter made him feel silly. He’d barely managed to steer his thoughts from it before they’d spotted him watching the Hufflepuff Quidditch practice. His suspicion of him being the same Hikaru that Yabu was friends with was confirmed when he’s seen Yabu throw his arm around Hikaru’s shoulder once practice had wrapped up, Hikaru walking out onto the Quidditch pitch to talk to his friend. And now Hikaru was here, a Seeker on the Slytherin Quidditch team.

The Gryffindor Seeker was hot on Hikaru’s tail, the two of them zipping across the field. The game had barely started, and now looked as though it was about to be over, a win for Slytherin when the Snitch was caught.

A Bludger barreled in their direction, aimed straight for Hikaru’s face, who had to duck and roll to avoid it. The entire stadium cheered and gasped, Keito himself included, Daiki letting out a muffled curse and getting reprimanded immediately by Professor Takizawa.

“An amazing dodge by Yaotome--sorry, Professor--and a show of remarkable aim by Kochi Yugo. Unfortunately though, it looks as though the Snitch has been lost. Come on, Slytherin, at least give my house a chance.”

The game picked up after that but Keito was hopeless at that point, eyes on no one but Hikaru. Hikaru’s gaze was focused but his movements were casual, looking completely in control of himself and his broomstick. Gryffindor Seeker was watching him like a hawk, hovering just over his shoulder in case he darted towards the Snitch again. There were a few more close calls, but none of them lasted too long, and meanwhile the war around the goalposts dragged on, each side getting some points in.

Then suddenly Hikaru was diving, the angle so steep and fast that Keito barely felt he could watch, squinting his eyes. The Gryffindor Seeker followed after him instantly, rushing to catch up. Hikaru turned sharply and pulled up, doubtlessly in pursuit of something this time. The Gryffindor Seeker was unable to turn as fast, his body scraping the ground in a way that looked painful before he too was able to get back into the air, turning to follow.

The crowd began to shout, watching the players flying neck and neck across the field. The Gryffindor’s broom was faster but Hikaru’s movements were sharper, the two of them weaving their way between players and balls and everything else, Hikaru’s hand reaching out, finally snatching something nimbly from the air.

“He’s got the Snitch!” Daiki announced, cheers erupting from the Slytherin side. Keito let out a whoop himself, happy for what Hikaru had done, but Yuto--and more inquisitively, Yamada--gave him looks, and he clammed up immediately.

“Slytherin wins, two hundred and twenty points to forty!” Daiki declared, and with that, the match was over.

With a painfully loud bang, blue sparks erupted from Keito’s wand. The force of the spell caused his arm to jerk, throwing his aim, and that was for the better; the blue stream of light hitting a tall row of shelves instead of Professor Kimura. The entire wooden structure fell forward, the contents crashing to the ground as it collided with the shelving unit next to it, a whole three units of stuff on the floor, some of it broken, by the time Professor Kimura was able to stop the destruction.

“Well…” He looked over the destruction, the entire room silent. “Class dismissed. If you could stay behind please, Okamoto?”

Keito nodded sheepishly, Yamada giving him a quick and concerned glance before scurrying from the room with the rest of the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws.

“Don’t look at me like that.” Professor Kimura said as Keito walked up to him, turning to straighten the two shelves that had almost completely fallen down. “I’m not mad at you. If we didn’t make mistakes, we wouldn’t learn.”

Keito nodded a bit, knowing he was pink in the face.

“I am glad your aim was off though; if your spell was powerful enough to knock all of these shelves over, I don’t want to know what it would have done to my face.”

That was supposed to be a joke, and Keito realized that, but the actual thought of him seriously harming a teacher due to his inability to do a spell had his mouth going dry. Kimura clapped him on the shoulder, giving him a little smile.

“It’s really okay. I’ve been meaning to redecorate anyway. Though, since you… Well, since you made this mess, I do ask that you help clean it up.” The Professor snapped his fingers, suddenly struck with inspiration. “Tell you what, I’ve got a student that’s supposed to show up soon for detention, and I know he’ll be all for rearranging my classroom. He can help you. Just... Don’t let him do anything drastic.”


	7. Chapter 7

Professor Kimura gestured to the door and as if on cue it opened, Yaotome Hikaru strolling in. Keito could barely believe it, his entire face turning scarlet in surprise, Hikaru smiling a little when he saw him.

“Oh, hey.” He said, giving him a little wave. Kimura looked between them a few times, his eyebrows raised at the redness on Keito’s face.

“Do the two of you know each other?” He asked.

“Only a little.” Hikaru answered, still looking at Keito. Then his eyes found the scene behind him. “What happened in here?”

“Your task for detention today.” Professor Kimura said, gesturing to the mess. “You and Okamoto here are going to clean up. I have some letters to write, but I’m leaving my office door open, so I’ll still be able to hear if anything happens.” The last sentence was aimed strongly in Hikaru’s direction, and after a pseudo innocent smile from the Slytherin himself, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor climbed the stairs to his office.

“So, um… What are you here for? Do you have detention too?” Hikaru asked, turning to face him. Keito was fighting to get his face back to a neutral color, knowing he was failing formidably. He shook his head.

“No, I… I tried to cast the Protego charm--what we’re learning in class--and I didn’t do it right. I knocked three of the shelves over.”

Hikaru chuckled at that, slight disbelief on his face as he walked closer and surveyed the damage.

“You did all of this with Protego?” He asked, sounding impressed, Keito nodding sheepishly. “You do know that’s a defensive charm, right?”

“It wasn’t really the right spell, my wand jerked and these blue sparks came out of it and…” Keito shook his head. “I don’t really know what happened.”

That had Hikaru laughing in earnest, looking at him with an expression Keito couldn’t quite place.

“Let’s get to cleaning this up then. I know exactly what I want to do with this.” Hikaru waved his wand, levitating the rather large Thunderbird skull that was on the floor. The giant artifact ended up hanging in front of the classroom door to scare anyone that walked in, Professor Kimura shouting sternly down at them, Hikaru promising to take full responsibility for any repercussions while Keito laughed. They had to use Reparo on a good amount of the items, but thankfully most of Professor Kimura’s things ended up as good as new once the mending charm had been applied.

“So, why are you in detention?” Keito had to ask. The first time Keito had heard Hikaru’s name, it had also been in relation to him being in detention; Keito was nearly beginning to associate the two words with each other.

“I… Well.” Hikaru paused, looking as though he was searching for the right way to phrase what he was going to say, a sheepish smile on his face. “It wasn’t really me that did anything.”

Keito raised an eyebrow, not sure that he really believed that.

“But, as it turns out…” He laughed, Keito leaning forward a little in anticipation. “If you collaborate with a poltergeist to disguise himself as a boggart, and then pretend that Professor Kimura’s worst fear is Headmaster Kitagawa in a skimpy set of robes, the poltergeist will blame it all on you.”

Keito’s mouth fell open, Hikaru laughing at his expression.

“You did that?” His voice came to him in a disbelieving whisper, and Hikaru shrugged, grinning.

“Class was boring. We’d all had a pretty hard exam the day before, and everyone had just gotten their grades back. I wanted to lighten things up a little.”

Hikaru’s role as a jokester was becoming pretty evident, and it made Keito smile a little. He found himself smiling more often than not, really, as they stacked Professor Kimura’s things back up on the shelves. Disappoint twinged in his chest once they had finished, Hikaru giving the newly arranged shelves a once over.

“So, getting stuck in the staircase, and destroying a classroom. You doing alright?” Hikaru asked. Keito turned pink again--something that was frustratingly easy around Hikaru, he found--and he nodded.

“I have a bit of a hard time learning spells.” He explained with a shrug. He was decent at spells once he knew them, but it was the getting used to them part that was slow. “My friends have been helping me out a bit, but they’re busy on their own. I don’t want to bother them too much.”

“I’m not bad at Defense Against the Dark Arts.” Hikaru said, not making eye contact, looking down at the wand he was twirling between his fingers. “I could tutor you, if you want.”

“Really?” Keito knew his response might have sounded a bit too eager, but when Hikaru smiled back at him, he found he didn’t much care.

“Sure. Professor Kimura will be glad to know I’m doing something more productive with my time.”

“I am!” Came a shout from the office, making both of them laugh a little.

“Um… Yes, thank you. I would like that.” Keito answered, Hikaru’s smile growing on his face. They worked out a day and time to meet up, and after some difficulty--Hikaru’s schedule infinitely busier than his thanks to Quidditch practice--Hikaru finally wrote “Tuesdays, five p.m.” on the corner of his parchment, tearing it off and handing it to Keito.

“Now we just need a place to--” He began, but was quickly cut off.

“You guys can practice in here.” Professor Kimura was standing on the staircase, leaning over a bit with his hands on the railing. He was smiling down at them. “You’re free to go.”

They had to part ways almost immediately after exiting the classroom, Hikaru going one way and Keito himself going the other, stopping in front of the door.

“Well, uh… See you soon, okay? We’ll work out that Protego charm or something.” Hikaru said, a small grin on his face. Keito nodded, clutching the note from Hikaru a little tighter in his hand. With a wave, Hikaru turned and walked away, Keito holding the little scrap of paper up to his chest, letting himself close his eyes. His heart was beating fast, and though he knew it was a little silly, he couldn’t stop himself from smiling.

“So what happened?” Inoo asked, all of them turning to Takaki excitedly for the answer. Takaki took a long drink of butterbeer before sighing.

“The press was already there when we arrived, so, y’know, they stared at us the whole time while we got our wands inspected.” Takaki began. “They were all fine--I don’t really know why they wouldn’t be, but I guess checking would be good--and then we each had a one on one interview for the Daily Prophet.” He pulled a face, and Yabu couldn’t help but laugh. Takaki had been pulled out of class on Friday for a press conference with reporters from the Daily Prophet and the rest of the Triwizard champions. Yabu had already heard the whole story of course, but Inoo and Hikaru had been begging to hear what happened, the four of them settling down in The Three Broomsticks to get out of the November chill and talk about it. “Then we just took a few photos. I don’t know when the paper is going to come out.”

“What questions did they ask you?” Hikaru asked. Takaki shrugged.

“Just, you know… How I felt about the other contestants, and the tasks… And if I was nervous for the first one…” He trailed off as he spoke, staring down at the table, and Yabu rubbed his back. The first task was coming up faster than Yabu could believe, now less than a week away, and he knew that if he was anxious about it, Takaki must be terribly anxious too. The event was taking place this upcoming Tuesday, and since nobody knew what it was, none of them could do much more than simply wait until it arrived. That was proving terribly unnerving; Takaki hadn’t realized the proximity of the event until Professor Takizawa had pointed out in Charms that there was only a week until the big day, and since then Takaki hadn’t been sleeping well, sometimes still awake when Yabu came back from his night patrol duties. Takaki had every right to be this nervous, but Yabu knew that being so jittery and sleep deprived was only going to make things worse when the day finally came.

“So?” Chinen asked, all of them jumping in surprise. Yabu hadn’t noticed him walk over. “What do you think about the other contestants?”

“Are you old enough to be here?” Hikaru asked him, his eyebrows furrowed, but Chinen just gave him a look, Inoo laughing while Takaki answered his question.

“The Beauxbaton contestant and I got to talking when Kiriyama was having his interview--he talked to the press first--and I have a cousin that’s going to Beauxbatons. Apparently they know each other, so that was interesting. And then Kiriyama, the guy from Durmstrang… I wish I could be like him.”

“Because he’s so much more handsome?” Hikaru guessed. Takaki glared a bit.

“Because he doesn’t even seem nervous. It’s amazing!” Takaki threw his hands up. “I don’t understand it! I asked him if he was ready for the first task, and he just shrugged and said ‘nah’. Casual as anything. We’re up against something unknown, that’s on possibly the same danger caliber as dragons, and all he had to say was ‘nah’.”

“He’s probably worried on the inside.” Yabu told him, but Takaki didn’t look convinced, taking another drink.

“What do you think the first task is going to be?” Inoo asked. He had an excited light in his eye, but Takaki looked less like he was excited and more like he was going to be sick.

“It was dragons last time, so maybe you have to fight some other creature.” Hikaru pointed out.

“Chimaera?” Chinen proposed helpfully, and Takaki went white.

“No, no.” Yabu said quickly. “They changed the Tournament regulations to make it less dangerous; there can’t be any deadly beasts this time around.”

According to Professor Takizawa--who seemed to know more about the Tournament’s inner workings than he ought to--there had been exhaustive negotiations to get the Tournament up and running again, and that had Yabu feeling that there weren’t going to be any giant and bloodthirsty lion-goat-dragon hybrids let loose anywhere near the contestants. Despite all of his reassurances, Yabu found Takaki late Monday night curled up on one of the common room couches, staring into the fire.

“You know I love you, right?” Takaki said as Yabu came to sit down next to him. “After tomorrow, make sure you send an owl to my parents, and tell them I love them too.”

Yabu chuckled at his melodramatics, and Takaki rested his head on his shoulder.

“You’re not going to die tomorrow, you know that.” He said. “Come on, the worst that could happen is that you come in last.”

“The key word in ‘mortal embarrassment’ is the mortality part, you know.” Takaki said, rather matter of factly. “I’m just not cut out for this kind of thing.”

“Sure you are. You’ve had coming on seven years of magical schooling, and you punched an acromantula in the face for me once. You can take on anything.”

Takaki laughed a little, shaking his head at the memory. Just a few months into Hikaru’s second year at Hogwarts, the curious Slytherin had wanted to see what made the Forbidden Forest so forbidden, begging for Yabu to come with him. Yabu had always been unable to deny any request of Hikaru’s--a lifelong friendship would do that to someone--and Takaki had heard him sneaking out that night, insisting that Yabu was too scrawny to go anywhere in the castle alone. Much to their horror, the thing that made the Forbidden Forest so forbidden was a hoard of eight foot long man-eating spiders, and Yabu still maintained that the three of them barely made it out of the situation with all of the same limbs they went into it with. He was grateful for it though, because it was the event that dragged Takaki into their friend group, and Yabu was able talk to him, instead of just snagging glances at him over their cauldrons in potions. Not that Yabu didn’t still do that anyway.

“I like that you think that.” Takaki told him, finding Yabu’s hand and entwining their fingers, resting them together on his thigh. “I was just trying to act cool in front of you, you know.”

“Well, I already thought you were cool.” Yabu told him, kissing the top of Takaki’s head, getting a contented chuckle in response. “I mean, you were also the wimpy potions partner that didn’t want to touch the frog livers, but you were cool all the same.”

“Oh hush, you didn’t want to touch them either.” Takaki grumbled back, but Yabu could hear the smile in his voice.

“Really though, you need to get some sleep.” Yabu said, straightening up a bit, shifting so Takaki would lift his head. He stood up, standing in front of Takaki and giving a slight tug on his hand, but it didn’t do much. “You should be going to bed.”

“Fine. But kiss me first.” Takaki requested, tugging at Yabu’s hand back, and Yabu laughed a little, letting Takaki pull him into his lap. He smiled into the kiss, letting his arms wind around his boyfriend’s neck, his fingers playing loosely with his hair. Takaki’s touch was so needy that it verged on desperate, and Yabu realized it was comfort that he needed, straddling his hips on the couch and sitting back on his thighs so he could pull Takaki closer to him. Takaki sighed into the contact, his warm hands finding the smooth skin of Yabu’s stomach and sides as he kissed back, slowly easing Yabu’s lips apart, affection on his tongue. When Takaki leaned back to breathe, he had a small, soft smile on his face, and Yabu felt his heart swell, about to lean in for another kiss when Takaki spoke up.

“Okay. Now I’ll go to bed.”

“But--”

“You’re the one that said…” Takaki’s voice was warm with amusement, grinning wider now, and Yabu sighed.

“...I hate that you’re right.” Yabu mumbled, Takaki letting out a coarse laugh, and a few kisses later they were finally on their feet, headed up the staircase and into bed.


	8. Chapter 8

All of the relaxation Yabu managed to instill in the Hogwarts champion the night before was completely gone by the time the next morning rolled around, Takaki sitting stock still at the breakfast table, not touching anything Yabu put in front of him.

“Come on, you have to eat.” Yabu wheedled, but Takaki just shook his head.

“I don’t think I can. I don’t want to try.”

“You’ll do awesome today!” Came a chipper voice from their left, Yabu turning to see Yuto give a smile and a wave to Takaki before sitting down at the Gryffindor table with his friends. He was the first out of a good amount of people that wished Takaki good luck on the First Task, and while Yabu found it rather heartwarming, it was hard to tell if Takaki felt the same, since his face had maintained its unmoving mask of discomforted ambiguous horror since the moment he’d opened his eyes.

The champions were to report on to the Quidditch pitch at nine a.m., and at eight forty-five Takaki got unsteadily to his feet, clearing his throat a few times before saying,

“...Okay. I need to go now.” The words were more to himself, and Yabu stood up with him, rubbing his shoulders.

“You’re going to do great, okay?” He insisted, placing his hands on the sides of Takaki’s face, moving it forwards and back into a nod when Takaki didn’t nod of his own free will. “It’ll be fine.”

He pulled him in for a strong kiss before sending him on his way, feeling a bit proud of the slightly increased confidence he seemed to have caused as Takaki walked out of the Great Hall.

“Well… He looks like a mess.” Hikaru noted, walking up. “How do you think he’ll do?”

Yabu sighed. “Yeah, there’s a sixty percent chance he might die.” He answered, and Hikaru laughed.

“Oh come on, overly supportive lover boy. Where’s that optimism?” He clapped Yabu on the back. “At least give him a fifty percent chance.”

Yabu laughed at that, Hikaru promising to save him a seat as Yabu assisted the teachers in herding students up to the stands surrounding the Quidditch pitch. There were three closet-sized boxes in the middle of the grassy arena, standing at an equal distance from each other. All of the walls were see-through, and the only thing inside each closet was a small table, with a box resting on it, a white cube that was roughly a foot long on each side.

After some high-energy waving Yabu managed to find Hikaru in the crowd, nudging a few stragglers along on his way through the mass of black robes to get to his friend.

“...This is the First Task?” Hikaru asked him as he sat, surveying the scene in front of them, craning his head around a particularly tall Gryffindor student to get a better look. “What does this even mean?”

Yabu could only shrug, nerves beginning to wind in his stomach. He caught sight of Inoo and waved, catching the Ravenclaw boy’s eye. Their friend starting in their direction, and Hikaru groaned.

“Why are they letting him bring the devil into the stands?”

Inoo had his cat sitting on one of his shoulders, and looked to just have rolled out of bed; his hair sticking out in a few different directions, and his eyelids barely open. He looked barely half awake as he sat down next to Yabu, the cat hopping down to curl into a ball in his lap. Though, to be honest, Inoo looked only half awake a good deal of the time, so Yabu wasn’t sure what to think.

“Who said you could bring your cat?” Hikaru asked and Inoo turned to him, slightly irate, and Yabu could tell instantly that their friend wasn’t just fresh out of bed; he was exhausted.

“I was up all night working on an Arithmancy paper. Do not test me; I will drop him on your head.”

That did the job excellently, Hikaru shutting up and turning away, eyes wide and lips pursed. Yabu couldn’t help but laugh, reaching around to rub both of his friends on the back.

At nine-thirty the Quidditch stands were completely full and Matsuoka Masahiro, the Ministry official heading the Magical Games and Sports department, weaved his way through the crowd, coming to a stop in front of the commentator’s microphone. The three champions and their respective headmasters began walking onto the pitch, Imai Tsubasa behind them, and Matsuoka started speaking.

“Welcome all to the First Task of this year’s Triwizard Tournament!”

Cheers and claps rang up all around Yabu, who rubbed his palms nervously on his thighs. The backs of the three chambers on the field opened and one champion stepped into each, instantly looking around. Yabu could see, even from the distance he was, that Takaki looked pale. Each headmaster ran their wand down one side of the chamber, and then Tsubasa followed up on each, giving all three of them a light tap with his wand. Yabu swallowed.

“The three champions have now entered their spaces for this task. While we can see them, they cannot see out. Their task is nothing more than to exit their individual chambers within an hour. They can use only their wands, as well as whatever is provided within the box in front of them. The task begins… Now.”

At the word ‘now’ a painfully loud bang rang out, sounding almost like a gunshot. Yabu jumped horribly, nearly falling off the edge of his seat. It was loud enough for the champions to hear, too; they hadn’t reacted to any of Matsuoka’s words, but at the noise the all looked around a bit. Nikaido from Beauxbatons jumped slightly too, while Akito gave a determined nod. They knew what the sound meant; the task had begun.

Takaki was inspecting his box, picking it up and looking at all sides. It was smooth, blank, and white, identical to the boxes the other champions had, and didn’t appear to have any openings. Akito tapped his box with his wand, his lips forming some spell Yabu couldn’t decipher, and his box opened up, spilling a endless jet of water into his chamber, splashing all down his robes and onto the floor. He made a face of surprise, reaching in and pulling out another box. It was only slightly smaller than the one it had been inside, but identical otherwise.

“Kiriyama has his first box open.” Matsuoka said, eyes scanning the field as he commentated the task. “The water was one of the worser things he could receive, and especially so close to the beginning; the longer he’s in there, the higher the water will rise. He’d better hurry!”

Takaki had managed to get his box open by then, but instead of spilling water, cornish pixies had erupted from it, and they were pulling viciously at his hair and his robes. One of them had his wand, and he was chasing the creature around the tiny space, trying to catch it. Along with the pixies, his box had also rendered a second one similar in nature, but it had been knocked to the floor.

“Is that a werewolf?” Hikaru asked, his voice hushed. He was pointing to Nikaido, Yabu tearing his eyes away from Takaki’s--slightly comical, he had to admit--struggle to see what Hikaru meant.

The Beauxbatons champion already had his second box opened, his wand raised against a creature that was stalking him around the small room. Yabu realized with a jolt of horrified fear that it was a werewolf, barely able to believe his eyes. The creature was up on its hind legs, bent nearly double and covered in fur, bearing its teeth and swiping with its claws, eyes wild and aggressive. With a word and a wave of his wand however, Nikaido had caused the monster to disappear, a small plush wolf toy lying in its place.

“A boggart!” Matsuoka exclaimed, and Yabu couldn’t help the sigh of relief that passed his lips, echoed by the entire crowd; the masses had all fallen silent and turned to watch the werewolf. He felt silly afterwards because really, there was no way they would stick a werewolf and a student in a small chamber together, but it had looked incredibly real. It was obvious by the shaken look on Nikaido’s face that for the initial few moments, he’d thought so too.

Takaki had managed to fight off all of the pixies by now, a few new scratches on his face, and tapped the second box with his wand. The chamber was enveloped in complete darkness.

“...what happened?” Yabu asked hesitantly, but Hikaru could offer no more than a shake of his head.

“Our Hogwarts champion has encountered the instant darkness powder!” Matsuoka’s voice was loud with amusement. “Good luck with that one.”

Unable to watch his boyfriend for now, Yabu turned to look at Akito. The water was unstoppable it seemed, still spilling endlessly into his chamber, up to his knees by now and soaking his clothes. He opened his second box as Yabu watched, and out popped a red envelope. Yabu couldn’t help but wince; he’d seen those before, and getting a howler in the middle of the Triwizard Tournament seemed five times worse than fighting off pixies, or even a boggart. The chamber was sealed, but even so they could still hear the shrill shrieking coming from the letter.

“You? In the Tournament? I can’t believe it!”

Akito grabbed the letter with a hand, his face turning a bright red as he stuffed it into the water. All in all, the champions had to open seven boxes before getting to the key inside. But the key wasn’t obvious in any manner, either; Hikaru had his eye on Nikaido, who was getting through his boxes the quickest, hitting Yabu’s arm when he finally opened his last one. The box was incredibly small, maybe an inch long on all sides, Nikaido reaching in with his thumb and forefinger and pulling out a thirteen inch long black feather.

“What are they supposed to do with that?” Inoo asked, but all Yabu could do was shrug in response. Nikaido seemed as lost as they were for a while, staring down at the object in his hands, then around at the walls holding him. Finally though, his face lit up, and he held the feather like a writing quill, pressing the pointed end to the wall, at a spot that was centered and just under eye level. The whole wall in front of him fell away, and he squinted in the sunlight that was pouring down at him.

“The first one from his chamber… Nikaido Takashi, from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic!”

Wild cheers erupted from the Beauxbatons students, with the other two schools applauding as he gave a hesitant smile and a wave, stepping from his box. Almost instantaneously a loud chime sounded and he gave a slight start, Matsuoka speaking up again.

“That was the hour mark--there will now be a one point penalty for every minute the remaining champions are in their chambers.”

Thankfully though, it didn’t take long for Takaki or Akito to finish. Akito was completely drenched up to his shoulders when he pressed the point of his feather to the wall, and Takaki’s face was covered in soot; about five boxes in he’d singed his eyebrows off. They emerged a few seconds from each other to thunderous applause, both around the four minute mark, clutching their feathers tightly in their hands. Akito’s was grey, and Takaki’s was brown.

“Congratulations to the Durmstrang and Hogwarts champions for completing the First Task!” Matsuoka declared. “The scoring is relatively straightforward this time: for finishing within the time limit Nikaido Takashi has received the full one hundred points, while Takaki Yuya and Kiriyama Akito both have a four point deduction. That feather is your clue for the Second Task. Well done today!”

That signaled the end of the event, and even from his seat in the stands, Yabu saw Takaki’s knees weaken in relief. Akito was beaming, despite how wet and doubtlessly freezing cold he was in the biting November air, saying something to Takaki and clapping him on the back. He did the same to Nikaido too, who smiled and responded, and students began spilling onto the Quidditch pitch to talk to the champions. Yabu got up to do the same, slipping between people and urging his legs to hurry. There was already a crowd around Takaki when he got there but he managed to push his way through them, wrapping his boyfriend up in a tight hug. He felt Takaki relax in the embrace for a moment before hugging him back, his arms settling around the small of Yabu’s back.

“You did it!” Yabu exclaimed, planting a quick kiss on Takaki’s lips, who blushed a bit at the public display of affection, something Yabu had stopped caring about long ago. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“Well, the oxygen in the room was running out.” Takaki told him with a small sigh. “And my whole face hurts.” He was doubtlessly talking about the box had more or less blown up on him, Yabu nodding sympathetically as he tried his hardest not to stare at his boyfriend’s disturbing lack of eyebrows. “Other than that though, I’m fine.”

Inoo and Hikaru had met up with them at that point, all hanging back while the Daily Prophet snapped a few pictures, trying their hardest not to giggle. Takaki was completely unaware of how he looked, just giving Hikaru a confused glance when their Slytherin friend asked if he’d left anything down at the Quidditch pitch. It wasn’t until they were all in Ravenclaw common room and Takaki tried to kiss him that Yabu pulled back, an apologetic expression on his face.

“I love you and everything, but... We need to get you another set of eyebrows.” He said, Takaki frowning.

“What do you mean?”

He raced to the mirror on the right wall, letting out a shout as he reached up to touch his now naked brow bone.

“The press took photos of me looking like this!” He shouted, Hikaru and Inoo howling in laughter.


	9. Chapter 9

That weekend was Hufflepuff’s first Quidditch match of the season. It was only three days after the First Task, and those two events combined were shaping up to be more excitement than Yamada felt Yuto could handle. Their lanky friend was practically bouncing in his seat at breakfast Saturday morning, and Yamada wasn’t sure that he’d touched any of his food.

“It’ll be great!” Keito told Yuto, who nodded vigorously.

“I know. Oh man, I’m so nervous. We’ll win, right?”

“Of course!” Yamada said, having no idea about the capabilities of the opposing Ravenclaw team. “I’m sure you will.”

“Good. Good. Okay.” He sat there, psyching himself up for a moment more before stuffing an entire english muffin into his mouth, chewing as he got to his feet. He hopped up and down on his toes a few times, rolling his shoulders.

“I’m going to go.” He declared, but a good five minutes later he was still standing there, bouncing from foot to foot.

“Uh… Were you going to go?” Yamada asked slowly, and Yuto blinked a few times, nodding.

“Right. Okay. I’m going to go.” He said again, and this time he was actually gone, walking quickly from the Great Hall and off to the Quidditch pitch. Yamada and Keito left not too long after that, wanting to get good seats. Or at least, that was Keito’s aim, but Yamada wasn’t agreeing to sit anywhere high up in the stands without Daiki there. They ended up close to the commentator’s podium, Daiki beaming at them when he walked up there with Professor Takizawa. Then the Quaffle was thrown, and with a light dusting of snowflakes starting to fall, the game began.

“And the Quaffle is in the hands of the Ravenclaw captain! This team is going through a growing year, with many of the members both young and new. Let’s see what they can do today!”

To their credit, the Ravenclaw team did well. Though he didn’t know too much about Quidditch tactics, Yamada could tell that they were full of potential. Thankfully for the Hufflepuff team, that potential was still trying to be realized, and as a result they weren’t too large of a challenge to beat, though they did put up a good fight. Yuto really shone through during the match--though part of that may have been due to Daiki’s biased commentation--scoring four goals on his own. The Hufflepuffs were exuberant in their celebration, and as a result Yamada and Keito didn’t see their friend until rather late the next morning, Yamada watching him leaning heavily onto the tables--and even random passersby--as he walked up to them. He looked extremely weak-kneed, and Yamada wondered if he was sick or something.

“Yuto?” He asked hesitantly, catching both Keito and Daiki’s attention. Keito’s lips parted in a concerned frown, and Daiki began to laugh as Yuto walked up and sat down heavily next to Yamada, asking weakly,

“Does anyone here know the counter spell for the Jelly Legs Jinx?”

That had all of them laughing, Daiki quickly coming to Yuto’s aid. Once his legs worked properly again he sighed, looking quite tired.

“Long night?” Daiki asked with a knowing smile. Yuto nodded.

“Being right next to the kitchen is good for parties, but I could have gone to bed a few hours earlier than I did.” He said, sighing lightly. “And there were four people waiting for me outside the common room this morning that weren’t fond of the fact that I didn’t want to date any of them.”

“Thus the jelly legs.” Daiki said, and Yuto nodded, spooning some food on to his plate and pouring himself a goblet of pumpkin juice. Keito frowned.

“This is getting ridiculous.” He said, and Yamada had to agree. Yuto was coming to them near daily for help with jinxes and hexes he needed countered for him, he'd nearly had his wand stolen, and a Slytherin girl had spent the whole of last week following him around the castle because he'd stopped a group of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff girls from bullying her. Yamada was worried that Yuto might seriously get hurt if this escalated any further, but it wasn’t as though Yuto could just stop being handsome and good at Quidditch overnight.

“Congratulations!” Came a high pitched, excited voice, all of them turning to see the beaming face of Nakajima Kento. “You played so well yesterday!”

“Oh, thanks.” Yuto said, giving the third year a wary smile, leaning in to Yamada’s side a bit as Kento slid on the bench to sit next to him.

“I think you’re the best on the team.” Kento said sincerely, and Yuto laughed.

“That’s not true at all.” He said, shaking his head.

“But you are!” Kento exclaimed, and in his insistence he accidentally knocked over Yuto’s pumpkin juice, his face turning to mortification as it spilled across the table.

“I’m sorry!” He squeaked, picking up the goblet as Yuto jumped from his seat to avoid getting wet, Yamada and Keito trying their best to help siphon up the spilled juice with their wands. The table was a little sticky when they were done, but it was the best they could do, and once they all sat down again Kento offered Yuto a new goblet of juice, his face red, and he scurried away.

“Poor kid.” Daiki said sympathetically, watching him go. Yuto nodded.

“He calls out, and waves at me in the hallways and stuff.” The Hufflepuff said. “Part of me keeps expecting him to confess to me maybe, but that’s a little self centered, isn’t it?” He took a long drink of his juice before lifting a bite of his food to his mouth, about to eat it when he froze.

“...Yuto?” Keito asked hesitantly. “Are you okay?”

A huge, lazy smile grew slowly on Yuto’s face, his eyelids drooping a bit.

“Never better.” He answered with a sigh, sinking further towards the table to rest his chin on his hands.

“Dude, what’s wrong with you?” Yamada couldn’t help but ask, nudging his friend with his elbow.

“Oh, nothing. I just met the love of my life.” He let out a strange little giggle, leaning close to Yamada, who leaned away.

“W-what are you talking about?” He asked, pulling a face, Daiki looking extremely intently across the table at them.

“...Kento! Ah, just saying his name makes me…” Yuto trailed off into a sigh, and Yamada couldn’t help the complete confusion on his face, a look reflected back at him from Keito and Daiki on the other side of the table. “I should go talk to him. Should I go talk to him? Oh, I’m nervous.” The dazed look was gone, Yuto suddenly looking anxious. “Do you think he likes me? I hope so.”

“...are you kidding?” Yamada asked hesitantly. Daiki obviously seemed to think so, laughing loudly, and even Keito chuckled, though he looked a bit concerned.

“You can’t joke about true love!” Yuto exclaimed, looking quite offended.

“True… What?” Daiki was still laughing, giving Yuto a bewildered look. Yuto’s gaze wandered again, and Daiki just shook his head. They dropped the gag, conversation turning to how the First Task had gone, but Yuto was completely disengaged, continuing to simply stare off into space. Yamada was impressed by his dedication to the weird joke, but the feeling changed quickly to alarm as Yuto jumped to his feet, interrupting Keito and asking,

“Where do you think Kento is? I’m going to the Gryffindor common room. I have to find him.”

Yamada grabbed Yuto by the wrist, pulling him back down.

“No.” He said. “This isn’t funny anymore.”

“I’m not kidding.” He answered, and he looked so serious that it actually had Yamada concerned.

“Yuto, what are you talking about?” Keito asked, looking equally concerned, if not moreso.

“I’m in love with Nakajima Kento.” He answered flatly, before his face split into another dreamy smile. “Ah, we have the same last name, isn’t that cute? We won’t even have to change it when we get married.” Yuto clasped his hands in front of his chest, swooning slightly. Yamada shared a look with his friends, and Daiki looked almost afraid.

“...I don’t think he’s kidding.” He said slowly, all of them turning to Yuto. “You’re really in love with him? How many times have you talked to him?”

Yuto fell silent for a moment, thinking.

“Well, once the day of the Sorting Ceremony, and just a few minutes ago.” He answered, beaming. “Oh, I wish I were talking to him right now.”

“You do?” Yamada couldn’t help but ask. Keito looked scared. “You want to go talk to him?”

Yuto nodded excitedly and got to his feet again, but this time they couldn’t stop him, unable to keep up with the long legs of their Hufflepuff friend. Thankfully, Yuto didn’t know the password needed to get into the common room, hopping from foot to foot outside the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"C'mon Yuto, why do you need to see that third year kid so badly?" Daiki asked. Yuto looked positively affronted.

"My future husband isn't just some 'kid'."

"What is wrong with him?" Daiki hissed, leaning in close, and Yamada could only shrug hopelessly. He had no idea.

"Let's just do some homework, okay?" Keito said, taking Yuto by the arm. "We have a Divination chart to finish, remember? The one about astral predictions, it's due on Tuesday."

Yuto didn't answer but Keito wasn’t waiting for a response, more or less muscling him through the portrait hole and onto a couch in the common room. He fetched their homework and sat down next to him, and after insistent looks Yamada understood what he was doing, pulling Daiki over and onto the couch as well. The four of them were painfully squished on the two-seated couch but it meant that Yuto couldn’t move, trapped between Keito and Yamada himself. Yuto wasn't going anywhere, but he wasn't helping with the Divination homework either, just musing about Nakajima Kento. The joke had stopped being funny a while ago, and Yuto was being so serious when he spoke--despite the worrying, slightly glazed over look in his eyes--that Yamada was wondering if it really was a joke after all. It had to be though; there was no way Yuto was in love with Kento, like he was claiming to be. As he'd said, they'd only spoken twice, and when Yuto had any sort of affections towards anyone, in both romantic and platonic senses of the word, he was hopelessly obvious about them. Yamada had full confidence that he would have known.

Yuto currently had his face in his hands, muttering about how if Kento didn't love him, his life would be over.

"I... I'm sure he likes you." Keito said, catching Yamada's eye anxiously. He wanted to cheer Yuto up, but obviously had no idea what to say. "He thinks you're good at Quidditch, remember?"

"He did say that, didn't he?" Yuto's face immediately lit up. "Why are you guys keeping me like this? It’s important! I need to tell him how I feel."

"But... But the castle is so big." Daiki countered quickly. "It would be near impossible to find him."

"I'll shout it from the Astronomy tower if I have to!" Yuto declared valiantly, wriggling his way off of the sofa like an overexcited puppy, standing triumphantly on his feet again.

"No, no!"

It was too late. Yuto was gone, again running off.

"Nice job." Yamada told Daiki flatly, who just shrugged back.

"We really should catch him." Keito said, all of them nodding before giving chase. This was completely ridiculous, and Yamada told them so as he fought to catch his breath. They'd climbed four sets of stairs, Keito had tripped twice, and Yuto had disappeared from sight.

"I seriously think something is wrong with him." Keito said as they began to climb the steps together, their breathing still heavy. "He doesn’t usually draw out jokes this long, especially when he knows they’re not funny."

"But he's not in love with Nakajima Kento." Daiki said, Yamada nodding in agreement. "He can't be."

"I know." Keito answered, falling silent again. When they finally reached the top, Yamada's heart stopped, the incredible height they were at stopping the breath on his lungs. He'd never been to the very top of any of the tallest towers, just the thought of it scaring him, and now that he was up so high his legs didn't feel like they could move. Despite all this, Yuto was shouting at the top of his lungs, leaning so far over the railing of the tower window that if he lost his balance, he would fall.

"Yuto!" Daiki shouted, and together with Keito the two of them pulled him back. Daiki’s voice was loud and angry in concern, and Keito looked pale, both of them keeping tight grips on Yuto’s arms. "What the hell are you doing? This isn't funny anymore, okay?"

"I'm not making a joke!" Yuto said back, almost just as frustrated, which scared Yamada. "What are you guys trying to do, anyway? Why are you holding me back?"

"He must have eaten, or drunken something weird." Yamada said as they dragged Yuto back down the stairs. "Breakfast is all he's had today."

"Should we go to the hospital wing?" Keito asked. Daiki shook his head.

"If he's poisoned, Professor Ninomiya would be able to recognize it faster." He reasoned, and down to the dungeons they went. Yuto struggled at first, but once Yamada told him they were taking him to where Kento was and he went much more quietly, insisting they stop a few times so he could fix his appearance as they walked.

Professor Ninomiya was not happy to see them. He looked as though he'd just woken up, despite it being two hours past noon.

"There's something wrong with our friend." Daiki said, keeping his voice hushed. "He's acting really strange."

"How so?" Ninomiya crossed his arms.

"He keeps saying he's in love with someone he's only talked to twice."

"I'm not qualified to give out relationship advice." In a flat tone, Ninomiya waved his hand dismissively at them. Yamada wasn’t taking no for an answer, his voice rising a bit as he spoke.

"But he's not in love!"

"And how do you know he's not?"

"His eyes are a little glazed over." Keito reported. "He's being really aggressive about it, which isn't like him at all, and..." His face lit up in realization. "It started right after he drank the pumpkin juice that Kento gave him, remember?"

Keito’s statements were what got his attention, Professor Ninomiya sighing as he dropped his arms and walked over to Yuto.

"Who are you in love with?" he asked.

"Nakajima Kento!" Yuto answered readily.

"And why?"

Yuto stalled for a moment, his eyes lighting up.

"He's cute, and..."

He fell silent, looking a bit troubled. Ninomiya raised an eyebrow.

"You don't know anything about him, do you?"

"I'm in love with him." Yuto insisted, and Professor Ninomiya groaned, stretching out his arms.

"You have a love potion on your hands. Your friend had been doped up." He reported, shaking his head in slight disbelief, Yamada fighting to keep his jaw from dropping in incredulity. "A really strong one, too; it probably wasn’t made correctly."

"Can you help us?" Daiki asked.

"Maybe. What do I get in return?"

Yamada wasn't sure that Professor Ninomiya was allowed to make deals at the expense of a student, but they didn't really have time to argue, and after some wheedling Professor Ninomiya agreed to brew them an antidote in exchange for four weeks of them cleaning up the Potions room after class. He went into his back storeroom to get to work, and after telling Yuto to sit on his hands and imagine his first date with the object of his affections, Keito, Daiki, and Yamada sat down in front of Professor Ninomiya’s fireplace to wait.


	10. Chapter 10

“We need to do something to protect Yuto. This has officially gotten dangerous.” Daiki said, Yamada and Keito nodding in agreement.

“I can’t believe Kento would do something like this.” Keito said, Yamada remembering back to the previous year when Nakajima Kento had been vying for his attention instead. Kento had tried to give him gifts a few times, including things like chocolates, but he’d always refused. Now he felt grateful that he had.

“We could maybe talk to the teachers?” Yamada proposed. They silently considered it for a moment before Daiki shook his head. There wasn’t much teachers could do against people wanting to date Yuto, not really, and the most they could do is just discipline Nakajima Kento and tell Yuto not to accept any presents from admirers.

Professor Ninomiya let out a loud sigh, drawing them all from their problem-solving session.

“It’s finished!” He declared. He was stirring a clear potion, the cauldron on a low simmer, spooning some of it into a cup. “It’s an easy one to cook up. C'mon, bring him over here.”

They sat Yuto down and placed the cup in his hands, getting a confused look.

“What’s this for?” He asked them.

“Well…” Daiki said slowly, trying to think. “It’s… To freshen up your breath. Then you can go talk to Kento, I promise. For real this time.”  
Yuto looked back and forth between all of them for a moment, Yamada giving what he hoped was a convincing nod. Then he shrugged, downing all of it. He swallowed and sat there for a moment, Yamada, Keito, and Daiki all waiting with bated breath.

“Guys…” Yuto looked up at them, silent for a moment as the embarrassment set in, Yamada watching as their friend turned the color of a tomato, lighting up from his neck to his ears. “I’m sorry.”

Professor Ninomiya let out a snort, Yuto jumping in surprise as he noticed him for the first time.

“Um… Hello, Professor.”

“So all of your memories are intact? That’s good then. I was actually a bit worried about that, but it seems like you’re okay.”

Yuto nodded. “I’m fine.”

Daiki began to laugh, and Yamada felt relieved.

“Good, it worked. Now get out of my office.” Professor Ninomiya said, kicking them out into the hallway. They filled Yuto in on what had happened as they walked back to the Gryffindor common room, their friend understandingly disbelieving.

“That’s why I was acting like that? Nakajima Kento gave me a love potion?” He looked around uneasily, as though expecting to see the Gryffindor third year over his shoulder, something that Yamada wouldn’t be too surprised about. “Well… I’m glad you guys were there, then.”

“You were crazy!” Daiki exclaimed with a laugh. “I hope you’re not actually like that when you love someone; they’d run away from you.”

“You wanted to marry him. You wanted to marry him so badly that you almost threw yourself off of the Astronomy tower.” Yamada told him. “Keito and Daiki had to drag you back.”

Yuto gave them sheepish looks. “Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” Keito assured him, throwing an arm around Yuto’s shoulders. “I’m just glad it’s over.”

“We are too.” Daiki assured him, and they came to the portrait hole, Keito saying “flibbertigibbet”. The Fat Lady nodded and swung open to let them enter. They collapsed on the couch, much more relaxed than they had been the last time, Keito shoving the Divination project aside.

“While you were imagining your dream date with your future husband, we were trying to think of a way to make sure this doesn’t happen again.” Yamada said. “We couldn’t think of anything, though.”

“Yeah, it’s proving pretty impossible to make you less desireable.” Daiki said, elbowing Yuto lightly in the side, and their friend laughed.

“Oh, I know.” Yamada said. “Just stop brushing your teeth. Stop bathing.”

Yuto pulled a face.

“Develop a really weird habit.” Daiki suggested. “Like… Start sneezing at the end of every sentence, or something.”

“Turn yourself blue.”

“Grow gills.”

“Stop having better ideas than me.” Yamada told Daiki, who laughed a little, ruffling Yamada’s hair lightly. Yamada pretended to protest, unable to bite back a smile as he dragged the strands back into place.

“Actually… I have an idea.” Keito spoke up. He sounded hesitant. “I’m not sure how it would work.”

“Something is better than nothing.” Daiki encouraged. “What is it?”

“Well, if Yuto were more… Off limits, in a way,” Keito said, looking as though he was having difficulty picking his words, “then people would stop trying to confess to him, right?”

“...right.” Yamada said, unsure if he understood what Keito was trying to say.

"So, maybe... If Yuto isn't single, people wouldn't try to ask him out, and he wouldn't keep getting hexed all the time." Keito said. He had a point, really, Yamada nodding.

"There's not anyone I want to date though." Yuto said.

"Except Nakajima Kento."

"Shut up Daiki."

Daiki grinned proudly while Yamada snorted back a laugh.

"You could just say you were dating someone." Daiki pointed out. "It doesn't have to be real; people just have to believe it."

"Like how you say you'll be taller than me one day?" Yuto shot back, and Daiki gave him a glare.

"You know, I'm trying to help." Daiki retorted, crossing his arms.

"He has a point though." Keito said. "You could just pretend."

"Would one of you guys pretend to date me then? Please?" Yuto asked. "I already love all of you, so it'll be easy."

"...well, Keito can't do it." Daiki said after a moment. He was looking at their soft spoken friend, Yamada glancing over to see that Keito's face was completely red. "He's way too bad at lying. It would be obvious."

"Yamada?" Yuto asked, eyes hopeful. "Please?"

"Yuto, I don't know..." He kept himself from looking in Daiki’s direction, Yuto hitting him at full force with his puppy-dog eyes.

"But we've known each other forever. We already hold hands and stuff sometimes, right? It'll be easy."

It would be easy, but something in Yamada's gut didn't feel right. Before he could say anything the portrait hole opened, Nakajima Kento stepping in. He looked around, spotting them, his face lighting up.

"Yuto!" He exclaimed, and Yuto drew back slightly, as though he was trying to get the couch to swallow him. He looked almost afraid to see the third year student, and Yamada knew instantly what he had to do. He got to his feet, stalking over to Nakajima Kento and getting up in his face.

"Listen up, kid. If you ever slip anything into my boyfriend's drink again--yes, my boyfriend--" He repeated the word, trying to garner as much attention as he could, willing his face to stay a neutral color as he pointed in Yuto’s direction, "--then I will make sure your dead body gets expelled from this school. Understand?"

That might have been overkill but it got the message across, and Nakajima Kento nodded.

"Yes." He squeaked out, scurrying away. Yamada turned back to the couch, met with the three shocked faces of his friends.

"Damn, Ryosuke." Daiki said, just as Yuto jumped to his feet.

"Thank you!" He said, beaming and wrapping Yamada in a hug. "Thank you, thank you!"

Yuto spun him in circles a few times, and when they came to a stop, Yamada finally let himself meet Daiki's eyes. He wasn't smiling, but he didn't quite look sad, just nodding a little and breaking the eye contact to stare down at his hands. Yamada's stomach sank.

Keito's heart was ready to beat out of his chest the following Tuesday, a few minutes before five, as he walked to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. It was time for his first tutoring session with Hikaru, nervous excitement twisting his stomach and rushing his feet down the corridor. He pushed the door open hesitantly, peeking in to see Hikaru sitting on the top of one of the desks, his feet swinging slightly, twirling his wand between his fingers. A smile grew on Keito's face in spite of himself and he walked in, Hikaru smiling back when he saw him.

"Hey."

"Hi." Keito answered, Hikaru hopping off the desk to stand up straight.

"What did you want to work on today?" He asked, and Keito thought for a moment. The past week of Defense Against the Dark Arts hadn't been too difficult, Professor Kimura obviously too distracted by the First Task to give them any hard spells. There was one they learned a week or so ago though that Yamada hadn't really been enthusiastic about practicing, but it was one Keito knew he needed to learn.

"Um... Would working on the Stunning Spell be okay?" He asked. Hikaru looked doubtful for a moment.

"Do you promise not to blow my face off?" He asked back, Keito turning pink.

"O-of course!" He exclaimed, not entirely sure about it now that Hikaru had asked. Hikaru just laughed.

"Sure. We just need to find a soft surface for me to land on; I don't want to break my head open on the floor."

Keito suddenly felt as though practicing the Stunning Spell might not be the best idea but Hikaru's mind was set, searching through Professor Kimura's cabinets until he found a stack of pillows. He levitated them out one by one, laying them out on the floor.

"Okay, so the wand movement is easy." Hikaru began. He stood behind Keito, extending his arm to take a hold of Keito's wrist. His hands were big and warm, and he pushed Keito's arm forward in a sharp motion. "It's just that. This is a dueling spell, after all. It can't be too complicated. And you know the word, I'm assuming?"

"Stupefy." Keito answered, and Hikaru nodded. He walked out so that he was standing just in front of the pillows, spreading his arms out.

"Hit me."

Keito's first attempt missed, the red stream of sparks sailing over Hikaru's shoulder. He blamed that for the detriment to his confidence, because his next attempt did meet its mark, but Hikaru barely stumbled back.

"Come on, you have to want to hit me." Hikaru said, hitting his chest with his hands.

"But I don't!" Keito protested, and that had Hikaru laughing, giving him a smile.

"You're cute. I can't teach you if you don't try though."

So Keito tried, and he tried harder, but he was having an incredibly hard time finding it in himself to cast the spell with the force he knew it would take to stun Hikaru.

"I'm not just a horrible teacher, am I?" Hikaru asked him on what had to be somewhere near his fifteenth attempt. He’d been able to make Hikaru lose his balance multiple times, or cause his eyelids to flutter closed, but the intent wasn’t there, and the spell hadn’t worked. "Do I need to go over it again?" He took a step forward, but Hikaru thinking the fault was his was the last thing Keito wanted, shaking his head and quickly waving his wand.

"Stupefy!"

The spell hit the left side of Hikaru's chest in a strong stream of red, Keito's heart stopping as he watched Hikaru fall not backwards towards the pillows, but off to the side, collapsing. Keito rushed forward in a desperate attempt to catch him but he couldn’t cross the distance fast enough, Hikaru landing on the stone floor below with a painful thud. Wincing, Keito knelt next to him. Hikaru was laying there, out cold, his head lolling as Keito turned him onto his back. He’d split his lip in the fall, blood trailing down the side of his face, and Keito felt terrible, pulling Hikaru's head into his lap. For a breath-stoppingly terrifying moment Keito couldn't remember the revival spell, trying to think of what to do. He went through some enchantments in his head, trying desperately to remember.

"Rennervate!" He finally exclaimed, breathing it again in relief, with his wand actually pointed at Hikaru this time. The Slytherin's eyelids fluttered for a moment before they opened, surprised to see Keito bending over him so intensely.

"Are you okay?" Keito asked, hoping desperately that the answer was yes, and that Hikaru wasn't mad at him.

"I think... Hey, you did it! You stunned me." He smiled, the expression turning into a wince a second later. "My face."

"Yeah, your lip..."

Hikaru reached up to touch the injury, his fingertips coming back dipped in red. He looked surprised to see the blood, and his expression made Keito feel worse.

"I'm sorry, I--"

"Keito, it's okay." The use of his name surprised him, and Keito could feel how loud his heartbeat was. Hikaru looked up at him, giving him a gentle grin. "It'll heal, and you got the spell right. That’s the whole point of this tutoring thing, isn’t it? I'll just make sure I aim for the pillows next time."

That made Keito smile in spite of himself, realizing there was something he could do.

"Hold on, I know."

He pointed his wand at Hikaru's face, who looked extremely unsure by the turn of events. He didn't flinch though, or turn away, when Keito waved the wand and said "Episkey!"

It was a simple spell, used for treating minor wounds, the broken skin on Hikaru’s bottom lip healing over instantly. Hikaru sat up once it had finished, moving his lips around, his silly expressions making Keito laugh a little. When Hikaru realized the cut was gone, he smiled.

"Hey, you fixed me." He remarked, and Keito couldn't help but nod, feeling a bit proud. "You're good at healing spells, then?"

"I, well..." Keito's father had used them so often for all of Keito’s stumbles and falls, they’d ended up being drilled into his head. "I use them a lot."

Hikaru's face softened a bit, and he laughed.

"Well, thank you." He said, and Keito reached over, noticing something.

"You still have a bit of blood..."

He wiped it away with his thumb, not really realizing how intrusive the action was until Hikaru flushed completely. He felt himself blushing too, saved from further embarrassment when Hikaru scurried away to get a rag to clean the blood off on. The Slytherin was smiling when he returned though, and Keito got the feeling the action hadn’t messed anything up.

“Let’s practice it a few more times.” Hikaru said, standing back in front of the pillows. Keito gave him a look of confusion.

“Are you sure?” He asked. Hikaru had just face planted into the floor, but that didn’t seem to deter him, laughing a bit at the expression on Keito’s face.

“I’m here to teach you, right? We need to make sure that last time wasn’t a fluke. Stun me five more times, and then I’ll deem you good enough to go.”

Keito was scared now, scared of hurting Hikaru again, but Hikaru’s eyes were sure and his smile was comforting, he agreed.

“Just… Fall on the pillows.”

“That’s the plan.”

Seven attempts and five revivals later, Keito was pulling Hikaru up from the ground for the last time, Hikaru’s hand lingering in his for a moment. Thankfully, there were no more cuts or scrapes that needed fixing, the pillows properly doing their job.

"Thank you for helping me." He said earnestly. "Sorry about making you fall on the floor like that."

"Well, thank you for fixing me up." Hikaru answered. "Same place, same time next week?"

Keito found himself a little surprised that Hikaru wanted to go through something like this with him again, but he wasn’t about to argue.

"U-uh yes! I'd like that."

Hikaru smiled at him, and once the pillows were put away they went their separate ways. Keito couldn't help the complete, unbidden smile on his face as he returned to the Gryffindor common room, Yamada eyeing him suspiciously.

"What's that expression?" He asked. "You're not in love too, are you?"

In spite of himself, Keito turned scarlet.

"I have a tutor." He answered. "For Defense Against the Dark Arts, so you don't have to help me anymore."

Yamada nodded a bit, though he didn’t look completely trusting of the explanation. Keito found he didn’t much care though, having to keep himself from skipping up the dormitory staircase. He had a tutor.


	11. Chapter 11

Snow began to fall heavily on the castle, and winter was officially underway. Keito didn’t love the cold--he didn’t really own many winter clothes--but the snow was beautiful to look at over the grounds, and it was always fun to watch it fall in the Great Hall, the high ceiling enchanted to mimic the weather outside.

“I have a very exciting announcement! Stop transfiguring your oranges, please.” Professor Sakamoto called out, interrupting his Transfiguration class. Keito lowered his wand, looking at the orange-hamster hybrid on his desk in slight despair. The creature was quite terrifying, really, and though Yamada wasn’t faring terribly better than him, at least Yamada’s had all of its legs, and was squeaking. “As you all are doubtlessly aware, the school is hosting the Triwizard Tournament, and with it come additional activities. The tournament is all about international magical cooperation, so as is customary on Christmas day, we will be having the Yule Ball here at Hogwarts.”

Keito didn’t know what the Yule Ball was, but he realized this had to be what his father had talked about, wanting to stay over the Christmas holiday. Sure enough, he wanted to be at the castle to witness it.

“Only fourth through seventh years are permitted to attend, though lower year students can come if brought by an older date. It’s a grand dance, so get your moves ready.”

“A dance!” Yamada said excitedly as they were leaving. “I love dancing. This is going to be so fun.”

Keito nodded in agreement. Though he didn’t have much confidence in his steps or his sense of rhythm, it was going to be an interesting event, and with his friends there he was sure he would enjoy it.

“Oh hey.” He nudged Yamada with his elbow. “It’ll be your first event with Yuto, won’t it?”

Yamada fell into thought for a moment before nodding. The two of them had been ‘dating’ for a week or so, but all they really did was walk hand in hand through the halls, and occasionally kiss each other on the cheek during meals. Yuto was good at being affectionate, a needy person by nature, and Yamada was good at accepting affection, so from what Keito could see, it was working out. Yamada had gotten some glares in the hallways from some of Yuto’s fans, but none of them had done more than stare.

“I mean… It’ll be more of a friend group thing though, right?” Yamada asked him after they had walked for a bit in silence. “Like… Daiki’s going to come too?”

“I’m sure he’ll want to.” Keito answered with a nod. Daiki loved a good party. “You’ll have to dance with Yuto though.”

Yamada nodded again, falling silent. By their next class period people were already talking about the Yule Ball, and the buzz only got louder. People were asking each other to the dance left and right as the week dragged on, and Keito was glad they’d thought up the fake dating idea before the ball was announced, or Yuto might have never been able to get to class on time. There were rumors about what band was going to playing, and everyone was talking about what they were going to wear. Keito was getting worried about how he could get himself some dress robes when Pablo flew over him during the owl post at breakfast, a large parcel landing in his lap. It was covered nearly an inch thick in the December snow and looked almost too heavy for the poor old owl, Keito letting his bird eat the bacon off his plate as he opened it.

A lovely set of forest green robes pooled into his lap, as well as a little note from his father.

_ Keito,_

_ You’ll need a pair of dress robes for the ball. Break a leg! Send me pictures, okay? I love you. Merry Christmas!_

He signed the letter obnoxiously largely at the bottom, making Keito laugh.

“Dress robes?”

Yamada and Daiki were walking up, Daiki pointing to the lump of fabric in his lap. Keito nodded.

“My dad sent them.” He explained, Daiki nodding.

“Yeah, I found a set blue of robes at the bottom of my trunk. They’re a little frayed, and too big; I sent an owl to my mom about them at the beginning of the year and she told me they used to be Daisuke’s, as well as to shut up or I would ruin the surprise. So I’m guessing they’re dress robes for me.” Daiki sat down next to Keito, slinging an arm around his shoulder. “So, since half of our friends are taken,” He said, glancing in Yamada’s direction, who looked away. “Would you like to go to the ball with me?”

“Uh, sure.” Keito answered. He’d just assumed they would all go together, so a formal question wouldn’t be needed, but Daiki gave him a little grin anyway. Unfortunately, as a result, Keito was given a slight cold shoulder from Yamada, his friend not talking to him for the rest of the day. It had him wondering if agreeing was the right thing to do.

“So, Christmas is coming up.” Hikaru said. Hikaru had spent the past hour working with him on the reductor curse, and now he and Keito were going around the room, trying to pick up all the pieces of the rocks they’d blasted apart. “Are you staying here at Hogwarts, or are you going home?”

“I’m staying.” Keito answered. “My dad really wanted me to stay. He told me not to come home for Christmas even before I knew that the Triwizard Tournament was happening, because he knew I would want to see everything that’s happening here.”

Hikaru nodded thoughtfully.

“Yeah, I’m staying too.” He said. “I have to go to the ball and be moral support for my friends; one of them is the Hogwarts champion, and the other one is the champion’s date, and as great as that is, it means they need to dance in front of everyone.” He laughed a little. “I had a dream last night that I had to create a huge distraction because the two of them tripped over each other’s feet and smashed into the dessert table.”

That made Keito laugh, Hikaru looking over at him and smiling.

“Are you going to the ball?” He asked, and Keito nodded.

“It’ll be fun.” He answered. “I’m going with my friends. Two of my friends just started dating, so I don’t know how that will be, but I’ll still have Daiki.”

“...Arioka Daiki?” Hikaru asked after a moment, Keito blinking in surprise. He nodded.

“You know him?”

“Yeah, we’re in the same year. I have few classes with the Gryffindors.” Hikaru said with a shrug. “And besides, I’m on the Quidditch team. I couldn’t not know who he was.”

“I know you are.” Keito said, grinning a bit as he remembered watching Hikaru catch the Snitch for his team. He’d sent the entire stadium a huge, toothy grin, pumping his fist in the air, the snitch’s tiny wings still flapping.

“You went to the game?” He asked, sounding surprised. Keito nodded.

“A friend of mine is crazy about Quidditch, so I have to go to every game.” He answered. “You’re really good though.”

Hikaru was silent for a long moment after that, his eyes on his feet, twirling his wand between his fingers with a small smile on his face.

“Thanks.”

“So, um…” They’d finished cleaning now, but Keito felt obligated to say something in the silence. “I’ll see you next week, I guess?”

“Yeah!” Hikaru grinned, levitating all of the bits of rock in his hand to the trash can on the far wall, Keito walking over to throw his own away. “And the Ball, too; maybe I’ll see you there?”

Keito couldn’t help but smile as he nodded, the smile still on his face through the entire walk back to the Gryffindor common room, a light feeling in his chest.

“What color robes do you want?” Yabu asked, flipping through a few sets of colored fabrics. “I’ve always thought that purple looked good on you.”

“You can pick them out for me, if you’d like.” Takaki answered. He was looking through robes too, unsuccessfully holding in a laugh as he held up a garish pair of bright lime green ones for Yabu to see. “I think you should wear these.”

He pulled a face that had Takaki laughing as he hung the robes back up. They’d made an emergency run to Hogsmeade for dress robes, needing some for the Ball tomorrow, but Takaki was having too much fun to take their venture seriously.

"Come on. What do you want to wear?" Yabu tried again, Takaki holding up some ugly burnt orange robes just to laugh at them.

"I trust you." He said, putting the robes back. "Dress me up, Kota."

Yabu ended up picking out some royal purple robes, and thankfully Takaki seemed to quite like them, staring at himself in the mirror with a small smile on his face.

"I would say it's your turn to pick some out for me, but I'm not sure I trust your judgement." Yabu said, Takaki's mouth opening in mock offense. He grabbed Yabu's hand, pulling him into the thick of the dress robes section of the store, with rows and rows of robes hung up on both sides of them.

"I'll pick you out some amazing robes." He said seriously, but it only took him a few minutes to begin giggling to himself with a neon magenta atrocity in his hand. Yabu sighed, hitting him on the shoulder and going back to leafing through the fabrics. Takaki watched him for a minute before glancing up and down the aisle. It was so near closing the time that the store was all but empty, and Yabu knew what Takaki was going to ask before it was even out of his mouth.

"No, I don't want to make out right now.” He declared, and Takaki pouted at him. "This is serious! The champions have to dance in front of the whole school to open the Yule Ball and I don't want either of us to look like idiots."

"That doesn't mean we can't make out a little."

Yabu threw him a look and Takaki sighed, shutting up. Yabu finally ended up purchasing some pastel blue robes--which, to his pleasant surprise, were a suggestion from Takaki himself--paying and exiting the store. They then trekked through the snow up to the castle, Yabu burrowing both of his hands, even the one Takaki was holding, into his jacket pockets for warmth. Their friends were waiting for them inside, making their way up to the Ravenclaw common room.

"Let's see them!" Hikaru said as they entered. "What robes did you guys get?"

Their choices were met with approval, and at Inoo's insistence they put the dress robes on over their clothes.

"So, what are you guys wearing?" Takaki asked, holding his chin up as Yabu fiddled with his collar.

"I just have some black ones." Hikaru said with a shrug. "They came with a bowtie, but I'm on the fence about wearing it too."

"Now that I know you have the bowtie, you have to wear it." Yabu said, laughing, and Hikaru groaned.

"I have some blue ones too." Inoo said, pointing to Yabu’s robes. "Not the same color as yours though; a dark blue. Gotta represent my house. What color are your robes, Chinen?"

The question had Yabu looking around, finally realizing that the younger student sitting at the desk near their couch with homework splayed across the tabletop was not a Ravenclaw student at all, but the little Slytherin that seemed to appear at the most random of times.Yabu found he didn’t him though, despite his sharp tongue. Chinen shrugged.

"Third years can't go, so I'm not going." He answered simply.

"There isn’t an older student you wanted to go with?" Hikaru asked, and Chinen sighed a little.

"Professor Ohno said he already had a date." He answered wistfully, and Yabu laughed until he realized that Chinen might not be joking. So he shut up, turning to Inoo instead.

"Who are you going with?"

Inoo pointed to the cat in his lap as though it were obvious.

"They’re letting you take him?" Takaki asked in surprise, but Inoo just shrugged.

"I don't care either way." He declared. "He's coming. I made him a cute little blue tie and everything."

"What about you, Hikaru?" Yabu asked. His friend was looking at Inoo and his cat with distaste.

"Well, I was going to see if Inoo and I could just go there together, but since my only single friend is taking the devil himself, I guess I'll be going to the Ball alone."

"That's depressing." Takaki said. Inoo huffed, petting his cat as though the words had offended his furry friend.

"Your loss."

"You guys have to get there early right?" Hikaru asked, pointing to Takaki and Yabu. Yabu nodded.

"Is that when they teach you how to dance, or are you supposed to already know? Because I'm pretty sure Takaki has two left feet."

"Hey, I can actually dance a little." Takaki countered with pride. "Yabu's the one who steps on my feet."

"It's not my fault my legs are longer than I know what to do with." Yabu insisted defensively, and they all laughed. Despite his jokes, dancing in front of the three schools was something he’d been worrying over since Takaki had told him about it. Neither of them were any good at dancing, or had any type of training.

"Lucky for you, I know a perfect spell that will make you excellent dancers." Hikaru told them, raising his wand and pointing it at Takaki. Yabu didn't know why he trusted Hikaru really, because a moment later Takaki's legs were thrashing wildly, and all of them were desperately trying to remember the counter spell for Tarantallegra, though it was a bit difficult considering just how hard they were all laughing. Even Takaki was laughing, though he was also looking at them quite desperately. Finally, Chinen spoke up from the corner.

"Finite incantatem." He said with a dismissive flick of his wand, Takaki's legs finally falling still.

"...ouch." He said, gripping a desk to stay on his feet. "My legs are so tired now! I hate you." He told Hikaru, who was gasping back tears from laughing. "Thank you, by the way," he said to Chinen, who just smiled.

“We’ll be fine.” Yabu said, but his voice really had no confidence in it, and Takaki gave him a soft smile.

“Of course we will.” He answered, taking one of Yabu’s hands in his own and putting the other on Yabu’s waist, leading him into a clumsy waltz around the room. There were obligatory puking noises in the background from their friends, but after three years of the fake disgust, Yabu couldn’t find it in himself to care, laughing as Takaki dipped him.

“Hold on.” He said, realizing the position they were in. Takaki gave him a questioning glance. “Why am I the woman here? Why do you get to lead?”

“Is that really up for debate?” Takaki asked as he brought Yabu back up, and though the question was teasing, Yabu opened his mouth in mock offense.

“You really think I’m more effeminate than you?” He had to ask.

“He has a point.” Inoo said. “Takaki, you do look better in a dress than Yabu does.”

That had all of them laughing, Chinen looking between them with an amused but incredibly curious expression on his face.

“Yeah, yeah, shut up.” Was all Takaki said in response, Yabu giggling at his deadpan tone and giving him a quick kiss. They got some dancing practice in, Inoo and Hikaru critiquing them as they twirled around the room and as a result Yabu felt much more confident about their dancing when they walked back to the Hufflepuff common room later that night, sighing and swinging their hands as they walked.

“Are you ready to dance tomorrow?” Takaki asked him, a grin on his face. Yabu shrugged.

“I guess so. You?”

“I was born ready.” Takaki answered, the smile turning cheeky, Yabu rolling his eyes as he laughed, taking advantage of the way they were holding hands to hit Takaki in the head with the back of his own hand, his boyfriend ducking and laughing.

“Sleep in my bed tonight?” Takaki asked, Yabu falling silent as he pretended to think about it. Then Takaki waggled his eyebrows in a way that he probably thought was convincing, smirking. “I can be your Christmas present tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, shut up.” Yabu told him, Takaki dropping the psuedo-seductive facade as he laughed. “And… Fine. Sure I will.” He tried to keep the answer nonchalant but it didn’t work at all, the smile on his face much too telling, Takaki stopping him in the hallway to give him a kiss.


	12. Chapter 12

Yamada blamed the freshly fallen snow for being too inviting when Yuto and Keito shook him awake early the morning of the ball.

“Merry Christmas!” Yuto exclaimed cheerily, and sure enough, there was a pile of presents on the foot of his bed, Yamada able to read nametags from his family and his friends. He sat up, one hand reaching for his glasses, the other headed for a present when Yuto stopped him.

“We can open those later; it snowed so much last night that we wanted to have a snowball fight!”

The idea of going out in the cold, especially since he was bundled up in his warm bed at the moment, had him grumbling under his breath in Yuto’s direction as he changed out of his pajamas. The more he woke up and heard about the situation, he began realizing that having a snowball fight had been Keito’s idea in the first place, so he instead switched to grumbling at both of them.

“Now we need to wake up Daik!”

Yamada found himself more or less dragged him up to Daiki’s room, their sixth year friend curled up under his blankets.

“Do we really have to wake him?” Yamada asked. Daiki looked so peaceful that he didn’t want to ruin it. Yuto didn’t seem to feel the same though, leaping onto Daiki’s bed. Daiki’s entire body bounced but he didn’t even stir, laying just as still and asleep as he had been. Yuto looked back at them, an incredulous expression on his face.

“Maybe he’s dead.” Keito supplied, his voice hushed, and Yuto laughed.

“Daiki!” Yuto hissed, trying his best to wake their friend without waking all of the other Gryffindor sixth years. “We want to go have a snowball fight but we need one more person. You in?”

Daiki shifted under his comforter, eyes still closed as he pulled his blankets up to his chin.

“Is that a yes or a no?”

“I don’t think he’s awake yet.” Yamada said, and after a bit more jostling, Yuto gave up.

“You try.” He told Yamada, giving him a light shove in Daiki’s direction. Yamada tripped over the edge of the rug, slipping on his own sock clad feet and falling on Daiki’s mattress. He missed landing on Daiki’s body, and aside from a little movement and a small sigh, Daiki remained dead to the world.

“Um…” Yamada began at Yuto’s insistence, poking Daiki’s nose. “Hey. Wake up.”

“Ryosuke?” Daiki murmured, the word slightly slurred with sleep. Yuto and Keito giggled next to them, and Yamada flushed.

“Yeah. I--” Yamada began, but his breath caught in his chest as Daiki reached around with his hand, finding Yamada’s own. “N-no, wake up!” He insisted, a little louder this time, feeling flustered as he poked at Daiki’s face again. Daiki’s eyelids actually opened then, and he blinked around at the three of them, confused.

“...what?” He finally said. “How early is it?”

“Merry Christmas!” Yuto exclaimed happily, and the entire rest of the room violently hushed them. Daiki was still painfully disoriented, giving Yamada’s fingers a small squeeze before he seemed to understand what he was doing, quickly letting go.

“Merry Christmas.” He responded, pulling himself up into a sleeping position. His hair was sticking up in about every direction, Yamada reaching up to smooth the strands down for him. “Is that what you guys are here for? Because telling me that could have waited until I woke up.”

“We wanted to have a snowball fight.” Keito answered. “But we can’t split into teams with just three people.”

“Oh. That would be fun.” Daiki blinked a bit more, seeming to finally start waking up, a small smile growing on his face. He pulled his sheets off and got to his feet with a nod. “I’ll be right down, just let me get dressed.”

While they weren’t the earliest people out on the school grounds, a few tracks of footprints and snow angels already in the snow, they were the only people out there at the moment. Daiki bent to scoop some snow into his hands, packing it into a ball as they walked, Yuto following suit soon after. Yamada was about to ask how they wanted to split the teams when a devious expression grew on both Yuto and Daiki’s faces, the two making eye contact before pouncing on him, Yuto’s snowball hitting him in the butt while Daiki stuffed his snowball down Yamada’s shirt. He fell back into the snow, suddenly much more wet and cold than he ever wanted to be, watching them both jump away as they howled in laughter.

“You two are the worst!” Yamada yelled after them. “They’re dead.” He told Keito as he was helped to his feet, Keito laughing and nodding in response. It was a vicious battle, and by the time they were finally exhausted there was no clear winning or losing side. There weren’t really any sides left, all of them pink with cold and wet with snow, frozen and exhausted. There wasn’t a reprieve when they agreed to call it quits either, the battle of pressing their cold fingers to each others’ necks and stomachs continuing as they ran up the grounds to the castle, yelling and chasing each other.

Yamada took a hot shower to thaw his fingers and toes, his eyes catching on his deep red dress robes as he pulled a t-shirt over his head. He didn’t know when to start getting ready for the ball, unsure if he should simply put on the robes on and brush his hair, or try to do something a little fancier with his appearance.  
Daiki seemed to be following a similar train of thought as he entered Yamada’s dorm room, his hair slightly frizzed from drying, his dress robes pulled on over his clothes. The robes were oversized to a nearly comical degree, trailing on the floor. Daiki reached out to Yamada, a good five inches covering his hand, and Yamada laughed at him.

“Help!” Daiki told him, Yamada taking his hand. “I’m drowning!”

“Do you want me to hem it for you?” Yamada asked, amused, Daiki nodding pathetically. Yamada pulled out his sewing kit, the two of them sitting on the couch in front of the common room fire while Yamada worked.

“So,” Daiki began, turning to him. “How’s having a boyfriend going?”

Yamada just shrugged. He didn’t really want to talk about it; aside from walking around in the halls holding hands and the occasional kisses on the cheek at breakfast, “dating” Yuto was about the same as being Yuto’s friend.

"Fine, I guess." He said. "It's kind of just normal."

He heard Daiki chuckle a bit next to him.

"Sounds like Yuto needs to step up his game." He remarked, and Yamada shook his head quickly, which just made Daiki laugh harder.

"I'm good, thanks." He paused for a moment, not wanting to badmouth his friend. "I mean, I'm sure Yuto would be a great boyfriend."

"But?" Daiki asked, raising an eyebrow.

"But... Well, you know." Yamada paused a bit, gesturing vaguely. "If... If he was dating someone who liked him... Like that."

Daiki gave a fake gasp, putting a hand over his mouth.

"You don't like him?"

"Shut up." Yamada said with a laugh, elbowing Daiki in the side. Daiki just continued the dramatics, brandishing grandly as he talked about sending an owl to Witch Weekly about this scandal, Yamada putting down his sewing needle to hit Daiki over the head.

"Shut up!" He said again but he was laughing, and Daiki was laughing too. "You know I don't like him."

"Do I?" Daiki asked, his eyebrows raised, and Yamada glanced away, turning his full attention back to Daiki's robes.

"Speaking of scandal, why did you ask Keito to the dance?" He asked. Daiki had hugged Keito and ruffled his hair when their friend had accepted the offer, saying it was a date and laughing. Yamada thought Daiki had a terrible sense of humor sometimes.

"We both needed someone to go with." Daiki answered simply, shrugging a bit. "We were going to go together anyway, but what can I say. I didn't have an official date, so I felt a little left out." He stretched, preoccupying himself with the hem of his t-shirt. "I had someone else on my mind to ask but it didn't work out."

"Didn't work out?" Yamada echoed quietly, but as Daiki's mouth opened the portrait hole burst open, and the moment was ruined.

"Tadah!" Yuto exclaimed as he jumped in, striking a pose. He was already in his dress robes, a deep golden color that shimmered when the light hit it. "How do I look?"

Keito jumped in behind him, also already dressed and trying to strike a similar pose, but he tripped over his robes and slid on the hardwood flooring, crashing to his knees. All of them moved to help but Yuto was the closest, pulling their friend to his feet.

"Well Yuto, you look like a bona fide knight in shining armor." Daiki told him, standing up to get a closer look at what Yuto was wearing. "It's cool how the robes are metallic like that; what are they made of?"

"No idea." Yuto responded happily, twirling a bit. "I really like them though. You two aren't dressed yet?"

"I'm getting my robes hemmed." Daiki explained, pointing over to Yamada, who held up his sewing needle.

"And I'm working without pay." Yamada said, causing them to laugh.

"You can just hem them with your wand you know." Keito said matter-of-factly, and Yamada shrugged. He knew, but he'd wanted to do it manually. Sewing with magic didn't leave any stitching, and maybe it was a bit selfish, but weaving thread through something Daiki was going to be wearing made him feel like he was leaving a mark, and he liked that.

"Either way, I'm almost done." He said, now trying to rush the job a little. It had been nice and relaxing with just the two of them, but now that half of his friends had changed he wanted to change too, so they could get up and go.

The sun was setting over the snowfall outside the common room window when they finally headed down together, Yuto on one side of him and holding his hand, Keito on the other, arm in arm with Daiki. Suits of armor sang out of tune Christmas carols to them as they passed, bombarded with the noise of hundreds of excited students as soon as they reached the entrance to the Great Hall.

Thousands of candles were floating just overhead, giving off a warm and welcoming glow. The Hall itself had been transformed, now completely blue, silver, and shimmery, the tables and chairs pushed to the back of the room to create a large open dance floor. There was a small string orchestra up on a stage, playing pleasant music as people milled around, chatting with each other. A table for food and drinks was against the right wall but they didn't have any time to investigate, Ministry official Matsuoka entering the room and catching everyone's attention. The lagging students were ushered inside by the teachers as he cut a line in the crowd from the front door to the dance floor, brandishing grandly and saying,

"Please join me in welcoming our lovely Triwizard champions!"

In they all walked. None of their robes were too intricate but Yamada still thought they looked very nice, Nikaido from Beauxbatons in a royal green and Akito from Durmstrang in a loud, happy red. Takaki Yuya was behind them, the Hufflepuff Quidditch captain Yabu Kota on his arm, both of them beaming. Yuto cheered as they entered and he wasn't the only one, many of the Hogwarts students sounding their support as their champion entered the Great Hall. The strings started an upbeat melody, and it was time for the ball to be opened with the first dance.  
It was quite obvious as soon as the dancing began that none of the champions really knew what they were doing. Akito appeared to be the best at it, but that might have just come from him committing fully to whatever steps he made, whereas Nikaido was continually correcting himself and growing steadily more red in the face as he went on. Takaki and Yabu were clumsy in their steps but very cute, smiling at each other and giggling at their mistakes.

The song was short, applause ringing throughout the Hall as it ended, another string heavy piece beginning not long after. A few of the teachers took to the dance floor alongside the champions, and Yuto must have taken that as an open invitation to the dance floor, pulling Yamada out of the crowd of spectators with him. Thankfully he wasn't the only one that thought so, students hesitantly going forward in pairs and small groups to dance. Before long, the dance floor was packed. While the slower, instrumental music was nice, dancing to it easily became monotonous, with Yuto dipping him or twirling him around every now and then to keep things interesting. Sure, it was was cute to watch the couples blush and sneak glances at each other, but Yamada felt ready to actually start dancing after about three songs in the same fashion. Thankfully, Matsuoka seemed to feel the same way, getting up on the stage as the song ended and amplifying his voice. The crowd stilled to watch him.

"Now that the formalities are over, please everyone give a round of applause to our lovely orchestra!"

They all did, clapping and cheering, the conductor giving a bow.

"And now... Who's ready to dance? I bring you... The Olds!"

Shouts went up as the four member pop group The Olds took the stage, wearing their signature seventies style suits and hats. They were an extremely sparkly group of men, diving immediately into one of their recent hits. Now it really felt like a school dance, Yamada able to break away from Yuto and move more. He loved to dance, but definitely more in a freestyle sense. It was fun.

It was nice to see so many people enjoying themselves, Keito breaking down into giggles and directing their attention to where Headmaster Kitagawa was getting groovy under the embarrassed eye of Professor Domoto, while Professor Nakai of Muggle Studies was breaking it down next to him, the bowler hat he always wore dangerously close to falling off. Professor Kimura was in the thick of it all the the students, and he'd brought his wife, the two of them organizing a kick line in the middle of the dance floor. The four of them managed to join in but it fell apart quickly, everyone laughing too hard to really kick in time.

An hour or so into the festivities the doors of the Great Hall burst open and seven centaurs stampeded in, each of them wearing brightly colored muggle tuxedos on their top half. Yamada knew the one with the red painted hooves to be the Divination teacher, Professor Shibutani, and the one with the purple painted hooves was Murakami Shingo, who had emerged from the Forbidden Forest to talk to their Care of Magical creatures class the previous year. He had talked so much that class had ran painfully late, and Yamada had ended up owing Professor Ninomiya nearly a full week of detention for it.

Each of the centaurs had their hooves painted a different color, from yellow to orange to green to black, and they stormed the stage. Tsubasa and Matsuoka fetched them some instruments, and eventually half of them had guitars in their hands, two had different sets of drums, and one had a keyboard. All of them were given microphones, though really they were just for show, a mic on a stand with a retro design in front of Professor Shibutani.

"Are you guys ready to party?" The one with the orange hooves asked, strumming his bass guitar. All of the instruments had amplifying charms on them, the deep tones vibrating through the room, and everyone cheered.

The group of centaurs rocked. They were a little too loud, Yamada able to feel the drum beats in his chest, but they were incredibly fun at the same time, even the most stubborn bystanders getting to their feet and joining in. Keito and Yuto were in shock, dumbfounded by the fact that their Divination professor could sing.

"I mean," Yuto began, having to shout a bit to be heard over the music, "he does this weird chanting thing in class sometimes, but it was nothing like this! This is amazing!"

They almost lost Keito at one point, their friend getting dragged into jumping and fist pumping group near the front of the stage. Daiki grabbed his flailing outstretched arm just in the nick of time, pulling him back and out of danger. The set for the centaurs was nearly an hour, and by the end of it, when they bowed and thanked them all, Yamada was thirsty and out of breath, but smiling.

"Keito and I are going to get drinks." Yuto said. He too looked like he had just exercised, but his eyes were bright. "Do you guys want anything?"

"Yeah, thanks." Daiki said with a nod. He was still swaying a bit to the music, adopting the rhythm of The Olds as they began a ballad, a welcome reprieve from what they had just been jamming out to. "Want to pick out a table while you're out there? I think I'll want to sit down in a second."

Nodding, Keito and Yuto disappeared into the crowd. Daiki turned to Yamada, smiling a bit.

"You look like you're having fun." He said, and Yamada couldn't help but grin. "May I have this dance?"


	13. Chapter 13

Yamada couldn’t do anything but nod, beaming down at his feet as Daiki took his hand. They fell in with all of the other couples that were swaying on the dance floor together, drifting a bit closer with every step, until Yamada was so close that if he wanted to, he could rest his forehead against Daiki’s own. He did his best to stay mindful of his distance though, making sure his eyes were looking anywhere but at the slight upturn on Daiki’s lips.

“Hey, Ryosuke?” Daiki asked, his voice quiet and close to his ear.

“Y-yeah?” Yamada asked back, his cheeks turning red when he heard himself stutter, and Daiki chuckled at him.

“I’m going to spin you, are you ready?”

In all honesty no, Yamada wasn’t, but he nodded anyway. He saw a familiar face fast approaching as he turned, twirling smack into Yuto, who put his hands on Yamada shoulders to steady him.

“Guess what?”

Their Hufflepuff friend was bubbling with excitement, the intimate mood instantly broken.

“What?” Daiki asked back.

“Keito and I were getting drinks, right, and then Seeker from the Slytherin Quidditch team smiled at him over the punch bowl and said ‘hey’.”

“...so?” Yamada couldn’t help but ask, unable to understand why Yuto was seemingly so giddy about it.

“So he said hey! And Keito turned super bright red. We have to get them to dance with each other.”

“Do they even know each other though?” Daiki asked, but Yamada found he didn't much care whether they did or not. Any endeavor aiming to make Keito blush was always fun, and he nodded readily, glancing over. Keito was alone at the table he and Yuto had picked out, standing slightly away from a group of Ravenclaw students and munching on a handful of snacks.

“And where’s Yaotome? He’s the Slytherin Seeker, right?” Daiki asked, getting a simple shrug from Yuto in response.

“Okay. We’re in the same year, so I have a couple of classes with him. I’ll find him, you go drag Keito out here, and then we’ll shove them into each other.” Daiki said. “That’ll work, right?”

Yuto nodded excitedly at their incredibly simplistic plan, dashing off again, Daiki grabbing Yamada by the hand and so they could weave through the crowd without getting separated.

“What does he look like?” Yamada asked. “The person we’re looking for?” He remembered seeing the Slytherin Seeker when they’d gone to watch the Gryffindor-Slytherin game, but he hadn’t taken care to remember any details of his face. Everyone was in dress robes, making it impossible to tell who was in what house by simply looking at them, and that wasn’t helping.

“Uh… I don’t know.” Daiki answered, jumping a bit to try and see over the dancing crowd, everyone jamming to the pop music that was blasting through the room. “He’s taller than me, pretty handsome, good at Quidditch…” He said the last quality as though it were something that could be visualized, which made Yamada chuckle a bit and roll his eyes. Yuto met up with them before they found who they were looking for, a confused Keito by his side.

“What are we doing?” he asked hesitantly. “Yuto wouldn’t tell me anything.”

“We are getting you a dance.” Daiki answered with a winning smile.

“What?” Keito asked again, just as Yuto pointed.

“Over there!”

And sure enough, there was an older boy in black robes standing a slight ways away from them, just off of the dance floor on the other side of the room, talking with some friends. His face was vaguely familiar, and he had all of the slightly taller, handsome, good at Quidditch traits that Daiki had described. Yamada looked over at Keito, seeing him looking back at them hesitantly.

“Yamada can’t be the only one that gets a dance with a handsome Quidditch player.” Daiki said, and at that Keito finally understood what was happening, shaking his head quickly.

“N-no!” He exclaimed, rushing off the dance floor before any of them could catch him. By the time they looked back, Yaotome had disappeared again.

“Keito!” Yuto exclaimed, hurrying after him, Daiki giving Yamada a look.

“Should we look for him again?” Daiki asked, but Yamada felt that getting something to drink was long overdue, shaking his head and leading the way to the tables, where their friends, two extra drinks, and a few napkins piled with snacks were waiting for them. It was nice to get off his feet, sitting at the table and watching the party go on.

Everyone was having a good time. The enjoyment of the students went without saying, but the teachers were partying too, and that was hilarious to see. The majority of them were there to keep the party respectable, so to speak, but Yamada had a feeling that at least half of them had forgotten that responsibility. It certainly seemed that way in the case of Professor Takizawa, the Charms professor, who had been swept up in a slow dance with Imai Tsubasa, despite the upbeat music around them, Tsubasa’s free hand on the small of Takizawa’s back and the two of them so full of fondness that Yamada felt that just his gaze was intruding. It was common knowledge that the professor was involved with someone, and while Yuto had pointed out last year that Professor Takizawa’s emergency absences always seemed to line up with Witch Weekly’s reports of seeing the Ministry official at St. Mungo’s Hospital, Yamada had always written it off as some sort of silly conspiracy theory.

“Professor Ninomiya is actually dancing.” Daiki murmured, his voice surprised but also hushed, as though he were afraid that their Potions master would hear him through the music and all the way across the room.

“Where?” Yuto asked, Daiki pointing, and sure enough he was, in a corner with Professor Ohno, the two laughing at each other as they moved.

“Hey Daiki, you’re in Care of Magical Creatures and Professor Ninomiya likes you; see if you can draw them out of that corner and onto the dance floor.” Yamada said, and Daiki gave him an incredulous look.

“It’s like you actually want me to die.” He responded, and they all laughed.

“Hey, wait…” Keito was pointing this time, in the direction of the food table. “That’s not who the Beauxbatons champion came with, is it?”

Yamada saw where he was pointing; Nikaido Takashi was standing in front of the punch bowl, a cup in his hands, talking about something to a rather doe-eyed Hogwarts student.

“That’s Senga Kento!” Daiki exclaimed in surprise. “He’s in our house; he’s on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.”

Nikaido said something then that must have been incredibly funny, Senga laughing heartily and reaching out to touch Nikaido’s arm.

“Does anyone else want more punch?” Keito asked, but they all declined the offer, their friend getting up with his empty cup.

“Where is our champion?” Yamada asked, looking around. They all fell silent as they searched, Daiki finally spotting him dancing with his date. They were at the back end of the dance floor, off a little bit to themselves, and they looked to be having the time of their lives. They were both laughing incredibly hard, taking turns doing silly dance moves to make each other laugh. Yamada watched them until the song ended, Yabu dropping Takaki’s hand in favor of throwing his arms around the champion’s neck, Takaki taking a few steps backwards under his weight as he beamed, kissing the side of Yabu’s head. The scene made Yamada smile, but somehow he felt a bit sad at the same time, suddenly aware of Daiki’s arm around his shoulders as they sat at the table together.

“Watching all this dancing makes me want to dance!” Yuto exclaimed. “I’m going back out there, do you guys want to come?”

“Sure.” Yamada said, standing. Daiki shook his head, waving a hand.

“I want to eat a few more cream puffs first. You kids have fun.”

Yamada felt a little reluctant about leaving him there alone--Keito hadn’t returned from his punch conquest, yet somehow the punch table was empty--but Yuto had a tight grip on his hand, pulling him away and onto the dance floor.

They caught the end of an upbeat song before the band mellowed out into a slow jam, the energy in the room dipping. It was still fun enough to dance to, and while there was much less fist pumping throughout the room, the both of them somehow ended up in a sort of body roll contest with a small group of older Durmstrang and Hogwarts students. It was very amusing, but Yamada had to drop out when he noticed something--or someone, rather--hitting Yuto on the shoulder and pointing.

He'd found Keito. Their friend was standing at the very edge of the dance floor, out of the way of the flashing lights. Yamada could see a little, blushing smile on his face, listening with all of his attention--and, if Yamada wasn't mistaken, adoration--to his companion speaking.

"It's them!" Yuto exclaimed, his voice very close to Yamada's ear and full of delight. "It's Keito and Hikaru! Should we go and say hi?"

After a moment of consideration, Yamada shook his head. While the two weren't dancing together, like all of them had been pushing for, they were talking, and swaying slightly to the music playing. It was too cute to interrupt; he didn't want to ruin anything.

He didn't want to ruin Yuto's night either, feeling that he'd been a less than stellar date as the dance floor slowed even further, the bright blonde vocalist on stage breaking into a ballad. Yuto was fun, and Yuto was kind. Yuto was his best friend, and this entire fake dating charade was something he actually needed to commit to. So he took Yuto's hand, stepping up close for the slow dance. Yuto chuckled at him, giving him a tight, bone crushing hug before resting his chin lightly on the top of Yamada's head and moving leisurely to the music.

Pablo nipped affectionately at Keito’s earlobe, Keito pausing the opening words of his letter to stroke the bird’s head. He was writing to his father again. It was the weekend after the ball, and for the past three days presents had arrived by owl post for him, all of them from his dad, all of them with ‘Merry Christmas’ written on the tag. He was sending a huge thank you, along with his own Christmas present: a pair of golden cuff links he’d bought for his dad over the summer. They would match well with the “stylish” muggle suits he had taken to wearing, buying them over the summer with the help of Yamada and a strange device called “the internet”.

He also wanted to give his father a recount of what had happened at the Ball, as he had asked for. He opened with the rainbow centaurs, something he knew his father would like; the type of music they played at the ball reminded Keito of the music his dad liked to listen to. He told him about the fun he’d had, and his friends, and the food and drinks that were there.

_And… I danced with a few people._

Just sitting there alone, he felt himself blushing too hard to elaborate. He wanted to tell his father about Hikaru--or anyone, really, about his newfound feelings, and the little hope he was holding that they were actually going somewhere--but the prospect of doing so was always too embarrassing for him to ever carry through with it.

Besides, he reasoned as he continued to write, what he and Hikaru had done wasn’t really enough to be considered “dancing”. It was much less interesting in comparison to describe, though it hadn’t felt that way when it was happening. Hikaru had waved at him when he’d gone back to the snack table, snagging his attention despite being all the way across the room. He’d abandoned his drink instantly to walk over, not realizing he was smiling until Hikaru pointed it out. Hikaru had also complimented his robes, reaching for his hands in greeting, giving his fingers a squeeze as he laughed when Keito complimented his bowtie in response.

The physical contact was surprising, even Hikaru seemingly surprised by himself, dropping his hands quickly in favor of simply swaying to the music. They’d chatted for a bit until Hikaru had heard someone call his name, giving a grand bow and disappearing into the crowd. As short-lived as the encounter had been, it was doubtlessly the highlight of Keito’s evening, smiling into his pillow later that night as he tried to sleep.

Keito talked a bit about the heavy snowfall they’d been having, wishing his father well as he finished up the letter. He tied the parchment and the little box with the cuff links to Pablo’s leg, giving the bird another affectionate pat before opening one of the windows in the Gryffindor common room, Pablo flying out into the cold air.

“What the hell are you doing in here?”

The voice was loud and abrasive, and it caught Keito's attention, turning him from the window and back to the common room. There was a group of older students standing in a ring, all fourth to sixth years and intimidatingly tall, and all of them looked displeased.

“I'm looking for someone.” Came a voice from within the gang of Gryffindors. It was a higher pitched, male voice, and while young-sounding, he didn't seem intimidated. Not as intimidated as Keito knew he would be, anyway.

“Well, look for them somewhere else, Slytherin.”

The house name sounded more like a curse, and Keito saw an arm lift to shove whoever it was they had surrounded. He stepped forward with a frown on his face, ready to intervene, and to his surprise he met eyes with Chinen Yuri. All Chinen gave him was a glance, but it was all Keito needed.

“He’s looking for me.” He said, cutting into the circle, Chinen escaping to stand close to him. After a bit of grumbling the group of Gryffindors dispersed, though they kept their eyes on Chinen.

“You Gryffindors don’t care much for Slytherins.” Chinen remarked. He seemed rather unbothered by it all, brushing an imaginary speck of dust from his robes.

“Well, some people…” Keito trailed off, unwilling to talk about it. As much as he hated to admit it, the altercation he’d just witnessed wasn’t a sight he was a stranger to. “How did you get in here?”

“The password is ‘boulderdash’, isn’t it?” Chinen asked back innocently. All Keito could do was nod. “Are you busy?”

“...no.” Keito finally answered, confused. He didn’t really have any plans; his friends had headed to Hogsmeade a couple of hours ago, Yuto and Yamada planning on staging a date in Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop.

“Well, good. Hikaru promised to show me a secret passage to Hogsmeade if I told you he wanted to talk to you.”

“Hikaru?” Keito echoed, his face feeling hot.

“Yeah, he wants to meet you at the ‘regular place’, whatever that means. He said you would know.”

Keito nodded a little. Their regular place was the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, Keito shrugging on his winter coat to step out of the portrait hole and into the cold and drafty castle hallway. Chinen walked with him, Keito sending him a questioning glance as to why he was tagging along.

“I want to make sure he shows me the secret passage.” He explained. “What does he want to talk to you about?”

“I don’t know.” Keito confessed, but he felt nervous. He didn’t have a reason for the apprehension--he hadn’t done anything wrong--but knowing that didn’t help quell the tension in his chest.

Sure enough, Hikaru was standing in the deserted classroom, a slight smile on his face when they walked in.

“Oh, Chinen. You’re still… Here.”

Chinen gave him an imploring look, obviously waiting for Hikaru to hold up his end of the deal, and Hikaru sighed a little.

“Um… Do you know where the Gunhilda of Gorsemoor statue is? On the third floor corridor?”

“The One-Eyed Witch statue?” Chinen asked back. Hikaru nodded.

“Meet me there in twenty minutes, okay? I’ll go through the secret passage with you.”

Chinen nodded, turning to duck out.

“Thank you, by the way!” Hikaru called after him, but Chinen just gave a wave of his hand, walking around the corner of the doorway and out of sight.


	14. Chapter 14

“So… It’s not a Tuesday.” Keito said, breaking the silence between them. Hikaru gave a small chuckle.

“Yeah, I know.”

“What did you want to talk to me about?”

The smile froze on Hikaru's face for a moment, making Keito frown. He realized that it wasn't really a smile, something weird and strained about it. Hikaru looked strangely nervous.

"Is it something bad?" Keito tried, concerned now, his apprehension returning at full force. He took a few steps closer, until Hikaru was just a few feet in front of him. Hikaru shook his head quickly.

"No! Or, I hope not." He let out a breath and looked down at his hands, twirling his wand between his fingers. "I... I’m sorry for acting like this. I’m being stupid." He laughed lightly, and when he looked back up he was pink in the face. "I just wanted to know, if maybe... If maybe you would like to go to Hogsmeade with me today? Just the two of us."

Keito's cheeks flared up immediately, and he could tell that Hikaru noticed, watching the older Slytherin look over his face, an amused light Keito was coming to recognize gleaming in his eyes.

"As, like... As a date?" Keito asked him hesitantly.

"I would like that." Hikaru said. "I mean, I like you, Keito, and..." He trailed off, and they were standing there, blushing at each other. Then Keito couldn't help it, his face breaking out into a smile, his heart swelling when Hikaru smiled back, his eyes disappearing into crescents as he laughed a little.

“I’d love to.” Keito told him, and Hikaru actually looked surprised.

"I... Okay! I, um..." He was suddenly flustered, glancing around himself, seemingly unsure of what to do, as though that hadn't been there response he was expecting. "I need to grab my coat and then we can go, is that okay?"

"Yes, definitely."

Hikaru gave him one more bright smile before dashing from the classroom. A warm bubble of elation rose in Keito's chest and he couldn't help it, beaming and wrapping his arms around himself, smiling even after his cheeks began to ache. He had a date. He had a date with Hikaru.

"I thought you said you were working on it!" Yabu chastised, and Takaki threw his hands up in the air.

"What is there to work on?" He asked back. He picked the feather up from his bedside table. "Look at it. What is there to figure out?"

"It's a clue, Yuya! They said it was the clue for the second task!"

"Kota, it's a feather." Takaki deadpanned. "There's nothing special about it."

Yabu snatched the feather from Takaki's hand, looking at it closely. Takaki was right, really; it was just a feather, colored brown with a golden tip, as though dipped in golden ink.

"Well... We need to figure it out." Yabu said, and Takaki sighed, flopping backwards onto his bed. "It has to mean something."

"I mean, we could talk to Inoo I guess." Takaki supplied. "He is the smartest person we know, and I don't have any ideas."

Yabu didn’t have any ideas either, and a few minutes later found them headed up to the Ravenclaw common room, the feather in Yabu’s right hand and Takaki’s hand in his left. Takaki banged on the door with the eagle-headed knocker, the bird giving him a disgruntled look.

“What always comes, but never arrives?” It asked them shrewdly.

“Your mom.” Takaki muttered, Yabu hitting him on the shoulder as he giggled.

“Don’t say that!”

“You laughed.” Takaki accused, and the knocker glared at them. Inoo didn’t know they were coming, so they didn’t have a way in without solving the puzzle. Where was randomly-appearing Chinen when one needed him?

“Could you tell us the riddle again?” Yabu asked, and after staring at him for a moment, the knocker complied.

“What always comes, but never arrives?”

“Your desire to let us inside?” Takaki tried again. Yabu felt that if the knocker could turn his back, or fly away, it would. This was the bird’s second year of enduring their stupidity, something it probably didn't often have to deal with; it wasn’t usual for students to spend the amount of time that they did in other house’s common rooms.

“What’s something that comes?” Yabu asked mostly to himself, and Takaki snorted back a laugh. It caused Yabu to laugh in spite of himself, and he had the feeling that even if they did manage to get the right answer, which was highly unlikely, the door just might not open for them anyway. They’d gone through a few attempts, none of them close to correct, when a Ravenclaw fifth year walked up, looking at them strangely.

“What always comes, but never arrives?” The knocker asked, and after a simple moment of thought, the student had an answer.

“Tomorrow.”

The door opened easily, Takaki and Yabu staring disbelievingly at the open door before glancing at each other.

“Why didn’t we think of that?” Takaki muttered as they walked in.

“Because you couldn’t get your mind out of the gutter.” Yabu responded, getting a protesting nudge in the side from Takaki’s elbow. Inoo was curled up on the couch, his cat resting across the top of the cushions near his head, a book in his lap.

“Inoo!” Takaki exclaimed, beaming at him when he looked up, both of them waving. Inoo gave them a confused glance, closing his book and walking over.

“What are you guys doing here?” Then he gasped, pointing between the two of them. “Did you finally figure out a riddle?”

“Yep.” Yabu said proudly, seeing his boyfriend beginning to shake his head and stepping on his toes. “Figured it out right away.”

“That’s good. This one isn’t too terribly hard.” Inoo said with a nod, not noticing the looks returned to him by Takaki and Yabu as he went back to the couch, the two of them following. “I would have been worried if you couldn’t get it.”

“...right.” Takaki muttered back. They all took seats, Yabu pulling the feather from his pocket and holding it up.

“We’re here because even though the second task is less than a month away, Takaki hasn’t even tried to figure out the clue yet.”

“How is it even a clue?” Takaki asked back, sounding indignant. “It’s just a feather. It doesn’t do anything.”

“And how do you know that?” Inoo asked, making grabby hands in Yabu’s direction until the feather was handed over to him. “Have you tested it out at all? Writing with it or something?”

“Well… No.” Takaki answered reluctantly. “I don’t want to write with it; it’s got a gold covering, and I don’t want to ruin it by dipping it in ink on it or something.”

“Then don’t dip it in ink.” Inoo said simply, pulling out a blank scrap of parchment and setting it on the coffee table. Then he picked up the feather, holding it like a quill and pressing down the tip to write.

Gold flowed forth like a fountain pen, Yabu’s mouth opening in surprise. Inoo was frowning though, and what he attempted to write came out looking shaky, as though he’d done it with a trembling hand.

"What's wrong?" Takaki asked.

"It was like... It was fighting me. It was jerking around, trying to write something else."

Takaki took the feather from him, holding it more loosely, pressing the tip to the paper. Instead of trying to write something else though he relaxed his arm, letting the quill guide his hand. He looked as shocked as the rest of them did, Yabu following Takaki's hand with his eye. A gold, shimmering word was spelled out across the parchment, written in calligraphy too beautiful for Takaki to have written himself, the letters so large they filled the entire piece of parchment.

"...bow?" Yabu finally asked.

"Does it mean the noun or the verb?" Inoo asked back, and Takaki just shrugged. Between the word and the feather...

"...maybe you'll have to dress up a giant bird." Yabu proposed. "That sounds pretty difficult."

Takaki laughed at him.

“Yeah, I’ll just get out Hikaru’s bow tie and dress robes.”

Inoo didn't join in their jokes, deep in thought and staring at the feather.

“What is it?” Takaki finally asked him.

“What kind of feather is that?” Inoo asked back, and Takaki shrugged, handing it over. It was a large and brown feather, around the length of Yabu’s forearm.

“It’s from something big, that’s for sure.” Yabu supplied. “It’s not like… From an average barn owl or something.”

“We should ask someone from Care of Magical Creatures.” Takaki suggested. He turned, pointing to Yabu. “Doesn’t that fourth year on your Quidditch team have some friends in that class?”

“I think so, yeah.”

“We could just go to the library, I’m sure there are plenty of books on feathered creatures.” Inoo countered, already getting to his feet. Takaki pulled a face.

“But we’re on a break from school!” He protested. “I don’t want to go to the library if I don’t have to.”

“Have to?” Inoo echoed. He held the feather up in front of Takaki’s face. “Isn’t this whole task thing like… Life or death, kind of?”

“We have a month.” Takaki responded dismissively, swiping the feather from Inoo’s hand. “If we have to go somewhere, let’s go to Hogsmeade.”

They stood there for a moment, staring each other down, and as Yabu watched they simultaneously turned on him. He suddenly felt quite small, seated on the couch with the others leaning over him.

“I, uh…”

“Do you want to help your boyfriend, or do want to waste your time?” Inoo asked.

“You’ve been talking for weeks about getting a new scarf; we could go to Hogsmeade to get it.” Takaki said right afterwards, and Yabu felt trapped, both of them staring imploringly at him. “Besides, it’s a weekend.”

“I…” He looked between the two of them. “I do want that scarf.” He said finally, and Inoo sighed, throwing his hands up as Takaki leaned down to kiss him.

“Come on Inoo, it’ll be fun.” Yabu tried. “We might even run into one of Yuto’s friends, and we can ask them about the clue.”

“Fine.” Inoo answered with a sigh. “Meet you guys by the train station?”

Nodding, Takaki and Yabu exited the Ravenclaw common room, returning to their own room for their coats, scarves, and gloves. Yabu put the feather into one of his inside jacket pockets for safe keeping, and they walked down together.

It was snowing by the time they made it to the train station, Inoo bundled up in his own coat, a Ravenclaw emblazoned beanie on his head.

“What took you guys so long? I’m freezing!” He exclaimed indignantly.

“You didn’t have to come.” Takaki answered, getting an unamused look in response, and they set off.

Yabu loved Hogsmeade, but especially in the winter, a crisp layer of white snow settling over the tiny, perfect shops. It all looked incredibly romantic and picturesque, and he was unable not to smile as they entered the little village.

There were students bustling everywhere, this weekend obviously a popular one to go out to town due to the break from school. All of the shops were incredibly lively as a result, warm lights glowing in all the windows, shopkeepers standing outside and advertising their goods and services to all the passersby.

Their first stop was the clothing shop, the same one they had visited the week previously for the dress robes. The dress robe selection was all but gone now that the ball had passed, the winter clothes first and forefront, giving Yabu an ample selection for the new scarf he wanted.

They had fun while they were there, trying on silly coats and hats, even shoving a few of them on Inoo's head and getting some laughs from their Ravenclaw friend, who lightened up the longer they were there. Yabu ended up with a cute yellow and black scarf, so long it went nearly to his knees when he wrapped it around his neck.

"Oh hey, isn't that one of Yuto's friends?" Takaki asked, pointing. They had entered Zonko's joke shop, Yabu's attention turning to where Takaki was indicating. There was a short Gryffindor student standing off to their right, sifting through the collection of mild explosives.

“It’s Arioka Daiki!” Yabu exclaimed. He was the commentator for all of the Quidditch matches; every player knew who he was.

“But is he Yuto’s friend?” Inoo asked, and to that Yabu wasn’t sure. So he decided they could just walk over and ask.

The boy greeted them when he saw them approaching, saying hello to Yabu himself and Takaki before apologizing to Inoo for not knowing his name.

"I'm Inoo Kei." Inoo supplied. "Are you a friend of Nakajima Yuto's?"

"I... Yeah, I am." He looked at them strangely, and Yabu didn't blame him; it was a weird question. "I'm Arioka Daiki."

"And you’re in Care of Magical Creatures, right?"

Daiki nodded, confused further, but Yabu cheered internally, pulling the feather from the inside pocket of his coat.

"We’ve been needing someone to ask: do you know what kind of feather this is?"

Daiki took the feather from his hand delicately, inspecting it.

"Is this the clue from the First Task?" He gasped, looking at Takaki, who nodded sheepishly.

"Yeah, I need to decipher the clue, but I’m not sure what animal it came from."

Daiki was silent as he looked over the object, his lips pursed in thought.

"Well... I mean, It could be a number of things. Going off size alone is a bit iffy, because they could have just used an engorgement charm on a regular owl feather." Inoo nodded as though the observation was obvious, but Yabu hadn't thought of that. "Assuming they didn't though, I would say this is probably either from a hippogriff or a thunderbird."

"What's a thunderbird?" Takaki asked blankly. Yabu had the same question, and it looked like Inoo did too; none of them had heard of a thunderbird before.

"They're native to North America." Daiki began, handing the feather back. "They're huge, with really sharp beaks, and they have multiple sets of wings. About six, on average."

Takaki had grown pale, and Daiki chuckled at him.

"Why?" He asked. "Do you think you'll have to fight one?"

"I'm not sure." Takaki answered honestly, Yabu clapping him on the back.

"Good luck putting Hikaru's dress robes on that thing." He said, Inoo laughing.

"So, what are you buying?" Inoo asked, turning the conversation to Daiki, who sighed.

"I need something to stay awake in Professor Domoto's class." He answered, getting understanding nods from all of them. History of Magic was, at times, painfully dull and snooze-worthy. "I’ve already tried sugar quills, but they still didn't work. I was thinking maybe something louder would help. What about you guys?"

"Hikaru replaced my soap with frogspawn last week, and I want to get him back." Inoo said. "Preferably something to put in his underwear."

Daiki laughed at that. "There's this great muggle invention called itching powder, but I don't think they sell that here."

"Itching powder?" Yabu echoed, turning to Takaki for help. Being a pureblood with a halfblood boyfriend had helped introduce Yabu to an entire muggle world he’d missed out on growing up, but itching powder was one thing he hadn't yet heard of.

"It does exactly what you think it does." Was all Takaki told him, and they traversed the store together, looking for something Inoo could use to exact his revenge. Though it wasn't underwear worthy, he ended up with a pocket full of extra strength hiccough sweets, saying he would use them slowly and painfully over the next two weeks. They all exited the joke shop together, Yabu asking if Daiki would like to join them at The Three Broomsticks.

"Sure!" Daiki answered with a smile.

"So," Takaki began once they'd grabbed a table. "What brings you here all by yourself? Your friends didn't want to come?"

Daiki took a long drink before answering, the smile fading from his face.

"No, my friends Yuto and Yamada are here, but... They're on a date."

"That's cute." Yabu said. He and Takaki had a lot of their dates here; it was more or less impossible to go anywhere else during the school year.

"I guess so."

Daiki’s response was lackluster, Inoo fixing Daiki with a look.

"You're in love with one of them." He said slowly, Daiki turning pink from his neck to his ears.

"W-what?"

Inoo looked just as taken aback as Daiki did, giggling at him.

"I was just guessing, but your reaction makes me pretty sure I'm right." He said, and Daiki reddened further, looking down at the tabletop.

"Which one?" Yabu couldn't help but ask. "Is it Yuto? I could put in some good words for you during practice." He'd never had the experience of liking someone that was already in a relationship, but he could imagine how terrible it would be. His offer made Daiki laugh though, shaking his head.

"Thanks, but no thanks." He said. "I mean, they're already in a relationship; if they're fine I don't want to mess with them."

That effectively dropped the topic, silence falling over them as they all took a drink.

"So what about you guys?" Daiki asked, looking a little desperate to break the silence or change the subject. "Doesn't Hikaru usually hang out with you?"

All eyes turned to Yabu, who spluttered defensively.

"I don’t know where Hikaru is all the time!” He protested. “He said he was busy today, but I don't know what with."

"Maybe he's actually working on his winter break assignments." Inoo said pointedly, but Takaki waved him off.

"If it's not due tomorrow, it's do tomorrow." He said flippantly, the whole table laughing.

"This is why you're an 'Acceptable' student." Inoo shot back , Takaki's mouth opening in indignation.

"Hey now, all but two of my O.W.L. grades were 'Exceeds Expectations', so you can shut up." He retorted, another round of laughter going up. Yabu glanced across the table to see Daiki smiling, watching them in amusement.


	15. Chapter 15

Once their drinks were empty they collectively decided that it was too cold to just walk leisurely around the little village, making a last, “just in case” stop in Honeydukes as they wound their way back to the castle. Inoo and Daiki stopped in front of the chocolate frog selection, Yabu watching their argument about the true value of chocolate frog cards with amusement. Daiki stopped mid sentence, mid word, getting on his tiptoes to look as best he could over Inoo’s head.

“What?” Inoo asked, turning, Yabu looking in the direction Daiki was peering in. Their newfound Gryffindor friend had a contemplative frown on his face.

“I think that’s my friend Keito.” He said, pointing, and as Yabu looked closer, it was someone else that caught his eye

“Is that Hikaru?” He asked Takaki, nudging him and pointing too. Takaki looked, confusion on his face when he saw who Yabu was pointing to.

“Yeah, I think it is.”

Hikaru was standing by the window in front of the eclectic lollipop display, holding an incredibly realistic looking sugar mustache up to his face, making a silly expression in the direction of Daiki’s friend, who was pink faced and smiling. Hikaru honest-to-god giggled at the Gryffindor student before putting the lollipop back and returning his attention to the display.

“They look… Friendly.” Inoo remarked, his eyebrows raised, Yabu deciding to walk over and say hello.

“Hikaru!” He exclaimed, waving to catch his attention. Hikaru’s eyes went wide in surprise, taking a small step away from Keito.

“Hi Daiki.” Keito greeted. He was smiling but Hikaru wasn’t, avoiding their eyes as they walked up.

“What’re you guys doing?” Takaki asked, the insinuation in his voice heavy and obvious. Keito was a bit too pink faced to answer, glancing over at Hikaru.

“You, um… You guys know about the student I’m tutoring, right?” He asked, and they all gave him blank expressions. Daiki seemed to know what he was talking about though, pointing.

“Hikaru is your tutor?” He asked Keito, who nodded. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

Keito just shrugged a little bit, Hikaru picking back up again.

“We just ran into each other, that’s all.”

Yabu had known Hikaru long enough to know that his explanation wasn’t the entire truth, raising an eyebrow. He didn’t know why Hikaru would lie to them, but he didn’t want to press him for what was really going on in front of everyone, especially Daiki, who they didn’t really know well. Inoo chuckled a little.

“I was wondering what a self-respecting Gryffindor was doing, hanging out with a Slytherin like you.” He said. Hikaru glanced at his feet, laughing bit.

“Yeah, we’re not hanging out. Don’t worry about that.” His answer was a little squirrely, Yabu looking to Keito, surprised by what he saw. Keito’s smile had worn down a little, and he had an expression close to perplexity on his face. “I just got here; I thought you guys were staying back to try and figure out that clue.” He pointed to Yabu. “You talked about being worried that Takaki hadn’t figured it out yet.”

“Well, I wanted to go to the library,” Inoo said, his important tone making them laugh as he placed a hand on his chest. “But they wanted to go shopping. I mean, it all worked out because we ran into Daiki; we showed him the feather and he said it could be from a thunderbird.”

“Sure, whatever that means.” Hikaru said with a laugh, and Takaki nodded.

“Exactly.” He said with a small sigh. “I don’t know.”

“We were planning on heading back to the castle now,” Yabu said, gesturing. “Do you want to come?”

Hikaru shrugged the offer off, waving a hand.

“Nah, there’s a few things I want to do here. I’ll catch up with you guys later though, okay?”

They nodded and said their farewells, Yabu and Takaki trekking up to the castle hand in hand.

“It looks like Hikaru made a new friend.” Takaki said with a small, insinuating grin. Yabu nodded, not really in the mood to smile back. The entire interaction had him a confused.

“Yeah, I knew Keito was getting help from someone, but he didn’t tell us who. Did Hikaru not tell you guys anything?” Daiki asked, and all three of them shook their heads.

“I mean, he would just not show up for dinner sometimes, but we didn’t really think too much of it.” Inoo answered. Then he completely stopped walking, turning to Takaki and Yabu with his hands on his hips.

“We’re going to the library now.” He insisted. Takaki let his head fall back.

“Do we have to?” He asked, his question drawn out with a sigh. Yabu wasn’t too keen on going to the library either; he was in the mood for a long, hot bath to warm his fingers and toes, then some quality time in front of the Hufflepuff common room fire with a cup of hot chocolate and his boyfriend.

Inoo gave them both exasperated looks, and Takaki side stepped him, patting him on the shoulder.

“We’ll meet in the library next week, okay? The second task is like a month away; we have plenty of time.”

As promised, they did meet in the library the next weekend. Unfortunately though, they didn’t get much of anything done. Takaki was dreading the second task to an incredible degree, and it showed in his behavior, avoiding even thinking about the task at hand, which in turn lead to him not studying up for it, or even talking about it.

On the completely other side, Inoo was wrapped up in everything the feather could mean. He was overthinking it, Yabu thought, but he was having so much fun doing so that Yabu couldn’t bring himself to tell Inoo to stop, despite the sea green color Takaki developed on his face when he began spouting a new theory. Unluckily for Takaki, he had a new theory nearly every other day. He’d made a list of all the gold things he could think of and was going through it, telling Takaki to prepare for everything from treasure hunting to a particularly intricate and dangerous transmutation spell.

“You know, you’re really not helping.” Takaki told him, running his hands through his hair as he looked over the list. “How am I supposed to get ready for all of these?”

Inoo just shrugged, turning back to his books. On a positive note, they seemed to have gained a new friend, and he was an incredibly good stress reliever. Daiki joined them for their library meetup the week after Hogsmeade, and had been hanging out with them quite regularly ever since. He was incredibly kind and incredibly funny, able to put a smile on Takaki’s face regardless of how stressed he looked. Daiki was also easy to get along with, he and Inoo becoming close quickly, though Chinen was able to wrap Daiki around his little finger as soon as they two of them met. It was nice to have him around though, and Yabu liked him quite a bit.

The weekend before the second task was a Quidditch match: Ravenclaw vs. Slytherin. The match was nasty and cold, the snow falling incredibly thickly into the arena. Aside from a few dark shapes moving throughout the sheet of white, it was hard to tell what was happening during the game. As a result Daiki had a hard time commentating, leading instead to hilarious anecdotes or obscure observations, riddled with muggle references that Yabu himself only got about half the time, Takaki telling him that they were about movies and TV shows.

“I have no idea how this match is ever going to end, because the Snitch is bound to be completely impossible to see in this weather… The Seekers are going to have to just close their eyes and use the Force for this one.”

“...the force of what?” Yabu asked, Inoo and Takaki just laughing on either side of him.

“Remind me that we need a Star Wars movie marathon.” Was all the explanation Takaki gave. Eventually, after a few dragging, miserable hours, Hikaru caught the Snitch and the match was won. They exited the stands as quickly as they could, Yabu using his Quidditch captain cred to enter the locker room to talk to him. Hikaru was heckled by them all as he was dusting the snow off his shoulders and out of his hair, Inoo complaining that he should have caught the tiny golden object at least half an hour earlier for the sake of his poor frozen fingers and toes.

“You get on a broom and try it!” Hikaru protested loudly, but he was smiling, exhilarated by his long earned win. His eyes were bright, his cheeks and face pink from cold, a red ring around his face where the goggles had been, and Yabu knew the adrenaline he must be feeling, unable not to smile back. They didn’t get the chance to say much more however, because Hikaru bounced from one foot to the other while Takaki spoke, excusing himself once he was finished and rushing quickly back out into the gale. He promised he would return, Inoo calling the question of why he was going in the first place and getting no reply. They all watched him go, Yabu raising an eyebrow.

“What’s he doing? It's a blizzard out there.” Takaki asked, but Inoo didn’t seem concerned, taking a seat on one of the benches. Yabu simply shrugged, having no reply, deciding that as long as he could stay here and warm himself up a bit before they had to walk back up to the castle, he didn't care too much.

“Slytherin won the match, and you guys are bound to win against Gryffindor.” Takaki said, rubbing his palms up and down Yabu’s arms as he spoke. “It looks like you and Hikaru are facing off again after all.”

“Except this time I’m going to kick his ass.” Yabu answered firmly, and Takaki laughed. “But are you ready for next week? For your face off with the thunderbird?”

“Face off…” Takaki muttered, trailing into a sigh. “I mean, how am I supposed to get ready for that? I know some stunning spells and some shielding spells and stuff, but how useful is that going to be? And I don’t even know what the objective is. I won’t know until I get there.”

“Because thinking fast and performing under stress it something that makes a good champion.” Yabu reminded him.

“Which is why I’m tied for last place.”

“No, you’re tied for second.” Yabu said with a smile. “And you were only behind first place by four minutes! You’re not as underprepared for this as you think you are.”

Takaki didn’t quite believe him, and Yabu could tell, but he hoped that his words were at least doing a bit of good. Takaki seemed much less terrified the morning of the second task than he had the morning of the first, but that could have been him trying to hide it, or simple denial.

“Okay.” He said, getting to his feet from the Hufflepuff table. His voice was high and squeaky and he coughed, but the cough didn’t help, sounding the same when he spoke again. “I’ll… See you guys later.”

“Best of luck.” Hikaru said, saluting him. Yabu reached out, giving his hand a squeeze, and after a quick well wish from Daiki, he was gone.  
Yabu got up shortly afterwards to help teachers direct students yet again to the Quidditch pitch, trekking up the stands about twenty minutes later to the seat that had been saved for him. The champions’ tent was on the left side of the pitch, and next to it was a was a large covered barn, Inoo taking a seat, Yabu sitting down just as a large screech erupted from the wooden structure.

“Well, it is some kind of bird.” Hikaru remarked. Matsuoka Masahiro climbed up to the announcer’s stand, clearing his throat loudly.

“Welcome all, to the Second Task!”

Yamada knew he was supposed to be excited. He should be acting more like Yuto next to him, who was bouncing in his seat, staring excitedly down at the Quidditch pitch. Matsuoka had just announced the commencement of the Second Task, the whole school sitting in the stands with their eyes on the grounds, the excitement palpable, but Yamada couldn't even find it in himself to muster up a smile. The past week--and maybe even the past few months--had sucked. And that was just putting it plainly; Daiki had all but stopped talking to him.

After the Yule Ball, Yamada was able to tell instantly that something was wrong. Daiki was fine and friendly, sure, but didn't much speak to him if they weren't together in their little friend group. As his boyfriend act with Yuto wore on Daiki spoke with him less and less. It was him specifically, he could tell; the older Gryffindor was avoiding his eyes, and never addressing him in conversation. It was subtle, his other friends not seeming to notice, but it was painful all the same. Their visit to Hogmeade together seemed to have been the final straw. Yamada had picked up on Nakajima Kento and his friends following them on their way to Madam Puddifoot’s, so he spun Yuto around and kissed him quickly in an attempt to make them stop. Their lips couldn't have touched for longer than half a second, and Yuto had giggled about it for the next thirty minutes, but Daiki had just mumbled out some excuse about needing to go to Zonko’s and walked off. Yamada had barely seen hide or hair of him sense, and it was driving him crazy. He missed Daiki so much it hurt.

"Look!" Keito exclaimed, pointing down to the field. The event was finally starting properly, Professor Kimura walking out slowly. He strode to the center of the pitch with purpose in his step, something held in his hands. Once he reached the middle he stopped, extending his arms and opening his hands. Yamada saw something flit away and through the air, but it was too small to tell other than a tiny glimmer of gold. Yuto though, let out a gasp.

"A snitch?" He whispered in disbelief. "Are they going to be playing Quidditch against each other?"

Once the field was empty again, Kiriyama Akito slowly walked out. His steps were hesitant, taking in the space he was in and the multitude of people watching him. He didn't even have his wand, dressed simply with a pair of protective goggles on. He stood there for a moment, facing the barn, the entire audience waiting with baited breath for something to happen.

Professor Ohno and Imai Tsubasa walked out from around the barn, each grabbing one side of the rightmost set of doors on the structure and pulling them open.

A grey hippogriff burst forth, flapping and squawking. Kiriyama actually smiled at the sharp taloned, razor clawed beast, removing his goggles and beginning to whistle a tune. The song was clear and loud through the crisp February air, catching the hippogriff's attention instantly. The beast touched down, pausing and turning sharply to look in his direction.

"He's got it interested!" Matsuoka was saying, his voice slightly hushed but charismatic all the same. "I wonder what he's up to."

The hippogriff took slow and steady steps towards him, watching with intense curiosity, and when it was a mere few feet away Kiriyama swept into a low, gracious bow. Slowly, after a moment of consideration, the hippogriff bowed back.

The crowd clapped as Kiriyama began to whistle again, reaching out to scratch the creature under the chin, stroking it lightly.

"He’s befriended it!" Matsuoka exclaimed. "But that was only half of his challenge--and the easier half, I fear."

"...they have to use the hippogriff to catch the snitch." Keito said, his voice quiet with disbelief. Yamada realized that he was right, looking down at the field and wondering how on earth that could even be possible.

Kiriyama had heard Matsuoka's words as well, looking around in an attempt to see what else it was he needed to do. His entire body froze for a moment when he saw the snitch, understanding dawning on his face, the hippogriff nudging his still hand in insistence for more attention. After some eye contact and rather dramatic gestures between the champion and the animal, the hippogriff crouched down on its front legs.

“Did he just… Talk to it? Somehow?” Yuto asked them, but Yamada couldn’t offer more than a shrug, watching as Kiriyama climbed onto its back, replaced his goggles in front of his eyes, and the hippogriff took to the air.

It was a magnificently large creature, its wingspan impressive as it ascended. Kiriyama was holding tightly to its neck, his eyes going so wide when he looked down that Yamada could see the whites from his seat in the stands.

"How is he supposed to catch the snitch like that?" Poor Kiriyama didn’t look like he wanted to be in the air; letting go of the hippogriff’s feathers to reach out for anything sounded terrifying to Yamada too. He hoped desperately that the champion didn’t fall.

After a great deal of dipping and weaving, the hippogriff's head turned sharply and it dived, Kiriyama letting out a loud shout. The beast was flying more aggressively and with more speed, unlike the confused flapping and turning it had been doing previously, Yamada understanding what was happening around the same time the Durmstrang champion seemed to. The gold and shiny snitch had caught the hippogriff's attention and it was following it around the field like a predator after prey, snapping its sharp beak.

The snitch made a circle around the stadium, close enough to the stands for the action to get up close and personal. The ball made a quick u-turn right in front of them, the hippogriff stopping short in confusion, Yuto gasping at the proximity, all of them watching as Kiriyama reached a quick hand over his head and caught the little golden ball, holding it up for the judges to see.

"Kiriyama Akito from Durmstrang School of Magic has caught the snitch!" Matsuoka exclaimed, his voice loud and elated. "In an incredible demonstration of camaraderie with his hippogriff, Kiriyama has completed the second task in a mere twenty-seven minutes! Well done!"

It took some coaxing but the hippogriff eventually touched back down, Kiriyama's legs shaking as he dismounted. He gave the beast's neck another affectionate stroke before Professor Ohno approached, leading it back to the barn. The field was reset, Professor Kimura letting another snitch fly, and the second contender stepped onto the field.

"Next up is Nikaido Takashi from Beauxbatons!"

There was a muffled laugh from up above them in the stands in the silence that followed, and it was a sound Yamada would recognize anywhere, turning sharply to see Daiki with his hands covering his mouth and his eyes disappearing into a smile, turned to face a Ravenclaw student that Yamada vaguely recognized. He was sitting with a whole group of students that Yamada found familiar, but the only one he knew by name was Yuto's Quidditch captain. Seeing Daiki up there and watching him smile like that sent a twinge of pain through Yamada's chest and he couldn't handle it anymore, getting to his feet.


	16. Chapter 16

"Yamada?" Yuto asked in confusion, glancing up at him as he stood. Yamada didn’t pay him any mind, taking large steps up the stands until he came to a stop in front of Daiki. The Ravenclaw that had been talking to him fell silent, and Daiki gave him a concerned, inquisitive look.

“...hi Yamada.” He said hesitantly. Daiki hadn’t greeted him by his last name like that in an entire year, and it twisted something sad and angry in his gut, grabbing Daiki by the wrist and pulling him to his feet and down the steps. He barely noticed the huge black hippogriff that was flying circles around where Nikaido was standing, and didn’t really care, not stopping until he was all the way down the stands, in the woodwork beneath the seats and out of the way. Daiki hadn’t said anything or asked any questions, and now that they were standing there alone he simply gave Yamada a patient, expectant expression, waiting for him to speak.

Yamada was angry. He wanted to yell at Daiki for leaving him alone, and ask him what the hell his problem was, and why he thought it was okay to replace his friends with whoever that Ravenclaw boy was. The words burst from his lips before he could stop them, his chest tight as he spoke.

“Do you just not like us anymore? Is that it?”

Daiki didn’t answer; Daiki wasn’t even looking at him, his eyes angled down. Somehow that just pissed him off further, bringing Daiki’s hand up to his chest so Daiki would look up. But all that earned him was a small, confused grin, the expression not meeting Daiki’s eyes.

“Of course not, Yamada. Don’t be silly.”

“Silly?” Yamada echoed, choking back a completely humorless laugh. “You’re the one that’s disappeared! You’ve been gone for a month and you don’t talk to me at all; you were sitting a few seats away from us and you didn’t even bother to say hi.”

“I didn’t see you guys, alright? I’m sorry. Is that what you want to hear? I’m sorry that I didn’t search through the stands for the three of you and instead sat with people I’d walked up with.”

“That’s not--” That wasn’t the apology Yamada wanted; that wasn’t the situation Yamada was angry about. “Daiki--”

“Yamada.” Daiki cut him off, pulling lightly to take his hand back, but Yamada didn’t let him go. “I’m allowed to have other friends. You have more people than just me. You have Keito. You have your boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend!” The vehemence in his own voice surprised him. “Since when do you call me ‘Yamada’, anyway?”

Daiki just pursed his lips, glancing away from him. Yamada wanted Daiki to argue with him. He wanted Daiki to yell back, so his own anger would feel more justified, but instead he was just standing there, speaking in a way that was painfully calm and collected.

“I... “ Yamada let out a long sigh, closing his eyes and shaking his head, letting their hands fall to his side. “I miss you.” He finally said. Daiki was surprised by the words, taking a slight step back, and Yamada tightened his grip on Daiki’s wrist. “I miss seeing you, and talking to you, because you’re gone now and you have other friends and of course that’s fine and everything but…” He took a deep breath, feeling shaky, and sure enough, Daiki’s eyes were soft, looking at him as though he were something fragile. “I don’t know what I did to you, but I’m sorry.”

“Listen...” Daiki gave a light sigh, his lips turning up into a smile. “I didn’t really go anywhere. I was just a few seats away. And plus, they’re all really nice people! You can come up and sit with us if you want to.”

Anger flared up in him again, so hot it made his eyes burn. Today, here and now, wasn’t at all what he meant or what he was talking about, and he could tell Daiki knew it too, letting Daiki’s hand go.

“No.” He answered, trying to keep his voice steady. “I don’t want to sit with you.”

“Okay.” Daiki was expectant again, but it wasn’t the same kind of expression; this time he looked almost impatient, as though wondering if Yamada was done yet, and if he could go back to his friends.

“Fine!” Word was unnecessary but he felt the need to say it anyway, so loud and sharp that he felt the immediate need to apologize. He didn’t. “You can go back to your new best friends, and I’ll go sit with the people that actually care about me.”

“Ryosuke.” Daiki was looking at him, staring into his eyes, his expression strange and a little sad. The use of his name surprised him and Yamada twisted his fingers together, looking down at the ground. “Do you really think I don’t care about you?”

A sick feeling rose in the back of Yamada’s throat and he wanted to cry all of a sudden, biting hard on his bottom lip. A heavy silence settled between them, interrupted only by Matsuoka announcing the entrance of the Hogwarts champion to the field. Yamada swallowed hard, resisting the urge to wrap his arms around himself, crossing them in front of his chest instead.

“It… That's what it's felt like lately.” He confessed. “I might be with Yuto, and… And whatever--” He waved a vague hand, and Daiki’s lips twitched upwards slightly. “--but I still care about you. I still want, you know…” He didn’t really know what he was saying, or how to phrase how he was feeling, struggling to put the chest aches, and fleeting glances, and sleepless nights into words, finishing weakly. “...you to be with me, and… Stuff.”

“Of course I care about you.” Daiki’s tone was so genuine that it made the words sound obvious, and Yamada couldn’t help a small bite of dissatisfaction at the idea that just maybe, he had overreacted. “It would take a lot… I honestly don’t know if there’s anything in the world that would--or even could--get close to changing how much I care about you.”

Yamada wanted nothing more than to hug Daiki, struggling internally for a moment before giving in. Daiki let out a small, surprised noise when Yamada barreled into him, stumbling backwards a few steps, letting out a light, happy chuckle as he hugged back. Yamada’s feet and cheeks were frozen but he would be more than happy to stand there forever, breathing in his best friend in the first time in what was much, much too long.

A loud gasp went up from the crowd, causing them to draw back from each other, hearing Matsuoka’s voice booming over the Quidditch pitch, slightly squeaky in concern.

“And he… Wow, um, that looks like a rather nasty injury, I’m not sure if…” He trailed off, he and Daiki exchanging concerned looks before turning together and hurrying back out, climbing up a set of steps to the landing to see the the second task.

The first thing Yamada noticed was blood, a lot of blood, a large chestnut hippogriff standing there and looking rather disgruntled, Takaki on the ground a few feet away, flat on his back, his legs bent and his feet planted on the grass. Yamada could tell the blood was Takaki’s but couldn’t tell where it was coming from, or how serious the injury was.

“Is he moving?” Daiki asked, his voice hushed, and for one slow, terrifying second Takaki wasn’t, Yamada’s mind instantly jumping to the worst possible circumstance. Then his legs rolled, the Hogwarts champion curled completely onto his side, and Yamada could see his chest heaving.

“He’s alive, at least.” He answered, and as they watched Takaki pulled himself up into a sitting position, his whole front slicked darkly in blood, drenched from his hands to halfway up his arms and all down his front. He was cradling his right arm to his chest, curled in on himself as he sat on the ground.

“His arm.” Yamada said quietly. “He must’ve been scratched.”

“I think ‘scratched’ is a little bit of an understatement, but yeah.” Daiki agreed with a nod. The hippogriff had calmed considerably, sitting on its haunches and watching Takaki sit there with his face screwed up in pain.

“Takaki Yuya has both offended his hippogriff and seriously injured his dominant hand, and all within the first few minutes.” Matsuoka said, Takaki seeming to break from his pain to spare the announcer an annoyed and exasperated look. “This task is not going well for him yet, and I’m not sure how he will manage this one.”

The doubtful words seemed to reinvigorate the champion, slowly staggering to his feet. The hippogriff regarded him warily, getting hesitantly up off the ground as well, backing up as Takaki approached. Then Takaki fell forward into a bow, nearly losing his balance as he leaned over, stumbling slightly. Fear rose in Yamada’s chest; the hippogriff had already attacked him once, and though he hadn’t seen how it had happened, that didn’t mean it couldn’t happen again. This time, by the way he was bowing, Takaki was completely exposing the back of his neck and making his head an easy target. If the creature attacked again, it would mean more than a bleeding arm.

The hippogriff was extremely slow in its approach, but it seemed more curious than aggressive as it walked up, every one of its movements prancy and pompous.

“This hippogriff was the most prideful of the three, something that our champion did not take into account when he entered the task.” Matsuoka said. Yamada almost expected another glare from Takaki at the statement--there was no way for him to have known that--but Takaki did not lift his head.

“He’s still conscious, right?” Daiki asked. Yamada didn’t know what to say.

“I hope so.”

The hippogriff finally bowed back, seemingly taking Takaki’s injured state and the length of his bow into account, but when Takaki straightened up the creature flounced away from him again. Yamada didn’t know how Takaki would finish the task, if he even could at all; he looked barely on the verge of consciousness, and Yamada was afraid that if he managed to get onto the hippogriff’s back, he would fall.

He did manage to get up there though, somehow and after a long display of patience, gripping the hippogriff’s neck feathers so tightly to keep himself upright that the animal let out a loud squawk as it took flight. It didn’t throw him though, Takaki sitting there and reaching out with his left arm. He had stopped bleeding but he looked pale, and after flying around the pitch a few times, it was nothing less than sheer dumb luck that the snitch met his palm, his entire body slumping when he wrapped his fingers around the object, holding it up, his head dipping dangerously.

Matsuoka called the event and nobody tried waiting for the hippogriff to land all on its own, Professor Ohno holding out a few dead ferrets to coax the animal quickly back to the ground. It was more of a graceful fall than a dismount for the Hogwarts champion, and once the school nurse had hurried to the Quidditch pitch everyone else began to as well, the other schools’ champions some of the first to get to Takaki’s side. Yamada noticed once the stampede of students began that Daiki and himself were stood by staircase that led down the stands, moving quickly to get out of the way before the group was upon them came. Daiki went in the other direction, Yamada watching as he walked out onto the field with the other students. Yabu Kota, Yuto’s Quidditch captain, was pushing his way through the crowd aggressively, and the combined effort of his long legs and his ability to throw elbows had him to Takaki’s side quickly.

“Where did you go?” Yuto asked, appearing behind him, Yamada turning to face his friends. Keito looked rather pale, his gaze still on the activity on the field, on the doubtlessly hindering and concerned crowd. “What happened?”

“I, uh…” Yamada didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to tell them, really, afraid it could make Yuto feel badly. “I just had something I’d been meaning to tell Daiki for weeks, but I’d kept forgetting. I just finally remembered what it was, that’s all.”

“Oh. Keito thought you looked angry.” Yuto said with a shrug, Yamada resisting the urge to glare daggers in Keito’s direction. “Crazy what happened to Takaki though, wasn’t it? He definitely finished last.”

“He probably doesn’t care about what place he got.” Keito interjected, still frowning in concern. “I’m just glad he’s okay, because when the hippogriff struck him and he fell--”

“Yeah, what happened?” Yamada asked, and Yuto’s mouth fell open.

“Did you miss it?” He gasped. “Oh, it was so scary!”

Yuto proceeded to launch into the tale, talking about how when the hippogriff had burst from its pen, the first thing it had done was fly straight at Takaki, spreading its wings and screeching loudly. Takaki, completely surprised more than anything, had shouted and turned away, but apparently turning away had been the complete wrong thing to do. The hippogriff had rushed him and squawked again, rearing up on its hind legs, and Takaki had reached up to defend his face, his arm getting sliced open.

“I thought he was dead for sure.” Yuto finished grimly, turning to look on the field. The crowd began to disperse, and once they’d moved well enough away Yamada was able to see their champion again, struggling to his feet, with Yabu’s arm around his waist, helping to steady him. The school nurse was on his other side, still fussing with his bandages, but Takaki paid it no mind, saying something to the other champions. Once he was properly standing, Matsuoka spoke up again.

“And, trailing behind the Beauxbatons champion by a full thirty-two minutes, Takaki Yuya for Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry comes in third place!”

Takaki didn’t seem to mind in the slightest, happy more than anything for the task to be done, the entire crowd applauding him. Daiki hadn’t come back, still mingling somewhere in the crowd, and Yamada waved off his friends’ offer to walk back to the castle, wanting to wait for Daiki to return. In hindsight, as Yamada looked over the emptying Quidditch pitch, he didn’t know why he thought Daiki would come back and meet up with him again. He was left alone in the February cold, the crisp chill air biting at his cheeks as he realized he was the only one left in the stands.


	17. Chapter 17

Yamada mulled over his feelings later that week, escaping his schoolwork and his friends in the common room to sit out on the grounds alone, leaning back against a hill dusted with frost. He let all of his feelings out into the open, raw and painful and exposed, and tried to piece them all together. He wanted to spend more time with Daiki. He wanted Daiki’s attention. Somehow, he had done something to get Daiki to more or less stop contacting him, and it made him so hurt that he’d left one of the most exciting events of the school year just to yell at the person he missed more than anything.

The result didn’t really surprise him, when he thought about it. He was in love with Daiki.

There had always been something there, he realized. He could still remember the first time they’d met, he and Keito hopelessly lost first years, trying to make sense of the dungeons and get to their Potions class. Daiki had come along and helped walk them to class, beaming at the “thank you”s he received, saying it was no problem before walking off. Keito hadn’t pointed out until afterwards that the student had to have ended up incredibly late for his own the class due to helping them, and Yamada had thought about the selfless gesture for a solid week. They’d seen him again a while later at breakfast, Keito insisting that they had to thank him again, sitting down with him to eat. Their fingers had touched when Daiki passed him a blueberry muffin, and it had made Yamada smile, though he hadn’t really known why, and they’d been friends after that.

They hadn’t really been friends though, not in the way friends were supposed to be. He’d never blushed heavily at a compliment from Yuto. He’d never pretended he was cold just so he could wear Keito’s jacket--though Keito had definitely offered up his jacket to Yamada a few times. He’d never really replayed any of he and Yuto’s conversations after he’d gotten in bed and turned off the lights, his face stuffed in his pillow in an attempt to stifle giggles or pretend he wasn’t smiling. He’d never thought about kissing Keito. Those were all Daiki things.

He wanted to kiss Daiki. He wanted to walk around campus holding Daiki’s hand, and go to the tea shop in Hogsmeade together, and do all of the other stereotypical and disgustingly cheesy things that he and Yuto were doing. He’d wanted to go to the Yule Ball with Daiki, not really realizing until Keito brought it up that he’d have to go exclusively with Yuto. What he hadn’t counted on was Daiki asking Keito to go with him instead of just simply attending, and he had a feeling that when he’d asked Daiki about it, that the one Daiki had implied actually wanting to ask to the dance was him. He’d told himself at the time not to think like that, the idea making him feel self centered and slightly narcissistic, but he couldn’t help it.

He didn’t want to date Yuto any longer. Yuto wasn’t bad to him, not by any means; Yuto was wonderful. Yuto was one of his best friends, and they were so comfortable together that it wasn’t even as though the hand holding or other physical contact made him feel weird. It didn’t. He just knew he wouldn’t be able to act on any feelings he had about Daiki with Yuto being there, and he didn’t want to hold out anymore. Daiki hadn’t approached him to talk since the Second Task, and Yamada didn’t think he could take much more of his silence.

On the other hand though, he didn’t want Yuto to get hurt. He was afraid that his suitors and otherwise interested classmates would return at full force once he was out of the picture, and they hadn’t taken enough Defense Against the Dark Arts classes to fend off heartbroken teenagers. He was the one that had agreed to date Yuto, and backing out of it would just make him feel bad. The Nakajima Kento debacle was still fresh in his mind, and Yuto had privately confessed to him later how helpless and incapable it had made him feel; putting Yuto in a situation like that again was the last thing he wanted.

Yamada let out a long sigh, watching his cold breath through the air, hearing a similar sigh next to him. The noise was startling, turning his head sharply to see Chinen sitting there, just barely behind him, his knees pulled up to his chest and his chin resting on them. He had on a fluffy winter cap and mittens, staring out over the grounds with a forlorn expression that matched how Yamada was feeling. He didn’t know when Chinen had come and sat next to him, or why.

“Are… Are you alright?” He asked hesitantly. Chinen pointed straight ahead, in the direction Yamada had been aimlessly looking in while he had been thinking, Yamada realizing for the first time that his eyes had been on the Groundskeeper’s Hut the entire time. There was smoke coming from the fireplace, Professor Ohno doubtlessly home, and Yamada turned to Chinen again, wondering what on earth he meant.

“So, you like him too?” Chinen asked, and Yamada could do nothing but stare. Chinen sighed again. “Another rival…”

Then he got to his feet, walking back in the direction of the castle, and Yamada watched him go, quite unsure of how to feel.

“Okay.” Hikaru was grinning at him. “Are you actually ready this time?”

Keito smiled back in spite of himself, and Hikaru threw the giant body pillow--one of the ones they’d put in use for the Stunning spell practice--right at his head.

“Arresto momentum!” He exclaimed, waving his wand, and the small amount of speed the pillow had picked up by the force of Hikaru’s throw disappeared, the object falling harmlessly at Keito’s feet with a soft thump. ‘Arresto momentum’ was the spell they were working on that week, used to slow or stop the momentum of an object. Professor Kimura had started in class by throwing dodgeballs, but Keito wasn’t quite there yet; the pillows, though bigger, were much slower too, and he’d only been hit in the face a few times.

“I think you’ve got the hang of the pillows.” Hikaru declared, stepping forward to sit on the one he’d just thrown, Keito glancing down at him. He began looking around the room. “What do you want to try stopping next?”

“Uh… I don’t know.” Keito answered, and Hikaru leaned his head against Keito’s leg, looking up at him. They looked at each other for a moment before Keito felt himself beginning to blush, glancing away.

He and Hikaru had been dating. Well… Sort of. Their tutoring sessions were a little different now--though Hikaru had informed him in a very amused voice that he still blushed just about as much, assuring him that it was cute, though--and Keito would send Hikaru letters whenever Pablo was free to fly, something he could tell the old bird was not at all enjoying. Aside from that, they didn’t do much interacting. They snuck around more than anything, something Keito hadn’t known he was signing up for.

They went to Hogsmeade together the day Hikaru had asked him, Hikaru’s face turning red when Keito grabbed his hand. Maybe he should have seen Hikaru’s nervous glancing around as a sign, but when he asked about it Hikaru had just waved him off, letting go of his hand under the guise of taking off his Slytherin scarf and stuffing it inside his coat pocket, saying he was no longer cold. He looked cold though, but Keito was too afraid to ask about it, feeling as though Hikaru simply didn't want to hold his hand, which did hurt a little.

Any time they saw each other, it was in secret. Hikaru would occasionally pass notes to him through Pablo or even Chinen, always with a time and a place, and they would meet up for a few moments. Hikaru had asked him to be behind the Quidditch locker room after the Slytherin match against Ravenclaw, so he’d made up some excuse to his friends and slipped from the stands to wait.

It was a bit fun, he had to admit, and when Hikaru had shown up, snowflakes clinging to his eyelashes and his bangs, his eyes bright and happy from their win, Keito hadn’t been able to help himself, cupping Hikaru’s face with his gloved hands and pulling his head down for a kiss. Hikaru had stared at him once he drew away, looking completely stunned, Keito worried for a moment that his actions had been too over the line. But then Hikaru just smiled even more than before, his face pink all the way to his ears, pulling Keito in for a tight hug before kissing his cheek and slipping away again. The memory of the kiss had been enough to hold him over until their next tutoring session, catching himself smiling randomly during class, or when he was supposed to be doing his homework. In some ways the secrecy was exciting, but once they’d parted ways Keito always missed Hikaru immediately, wishing they could be more open. He knew he should ask about it, because he didn't really want to sneak around the castle like they were, but he was afraid of what Hikaru might do or say. Hikaru acted so different when they were alone, and Keito didn’t want to jeopardize those moments.

These moments, Hikaru pulling himself to his feet and standing next to Keito, nudging him with an elbow, a grin on his face.

“Well?” He asked again. “What do you want to practice with?”

Keito didn’t answer; he couldn’t, the blush on his face too heavy to pull his gaze up from his feet. Hikaru laughed, the affection in his tone making Keito smile.

“Come on, Keito!” He exclaimed, nudging him again. “At least look at me.”

Hikaru’s face was closer to his than he expected when he finally complied so Keito took that as an invitation, placing another kiss on Hikaru’s lips. He liked kissing Hikaru; he liked the soft and gentle touch, he liked the little jump it gave his heart, and he loved the way Hikaru would look at him, seemingly starstruck for a moment before his face would turn pink. He liked being the one that made Hikaru blush for once, instead of the other way around. This time, Hikaru covered his face with his hands, rubbing at his cheeks. Keito had to smile.

“Is there anything here that’s a good middle ground between a pillow and the dodgeballs?” Keito finally asked, in answer to Hikaru’s question, who had to think for a moment before coming up with an answer.

“Um… I think the professor has some editions of Witch Weekly in his office.” Hikaru straightened up, turning in that direction before he caught the doubtful expression on Keito’s face. “Oh, don’t look like that.” He said. “I think you can do it. I know you can! If you can affect my heart rate, you can affect the velocity of a magazine.”

Then he properly turned to get the magazine editions he had mentioned, Keito having to stand there and let the flirty--and, admittedly, quite terrible--line sink in, Hikaru looking abashed by the corny awfulness of what he had said when he returned. This was a Hikaru that Keito knew for a fact he would never, ever see in front of anyone else, and he finally let out the question that had nagged at him since Hogsmeade.

“Why don’t you want anyone to know about us?”

It wasn’t what Hikaru was expecting to hear, and his reaction was what Keito had feared. The mood completely faded as Hikaru’s face fell, letting the magazines in his hand go. They hit the floor together with a loud ‘slap’. After a painful stretch of silence, Keito gave a few of the reasons he’d had the time to think up, not wanting to look at Hikaru’s face.

“Are you embarrassed of me? Do you just… Not like me as much as I thought?”

“Keito, it’s not--”

“My sense of style is just as bad as Daiki's, and you can’t afford to be seen with me in public?”

The last one was meant to be a tension breaker, and though Hikaru did smile a bit, it wasn’t enough to make a difference.

"Of course not, Keito. That's ridiculous. I don't care in the slightest what clothes you wear. My fashion is too bad to judge anyone else either, I think I've had the same scarf for the past two years, and--"

He was stalling, now trying to avoid the question, and Keito could tell by the nervous tic in his hands, the way he was twirling his wand between his fingers.

"So what is it?" He prompted, bringing them back to the original question. Hikaru let out a breath, seemingly holding in some sort of wince.  
"I just... I don't want other people to know, I guess."

"You are embarrassed of me." That had been the number one explanation Keito had working for him, and its affirmative answer was the scariest, the main reason he hadn't asked yet. It was exactly what he had been dreading to hear: Hikaru didn't want people to think of Keito as his boyfriend because something about him made Hikaru ashamed to associate.

"No!" Hikaru said quickly, hurrying forward in such haste that he nearly slipped on the magazines. "That's not it at all. It's not you."

"Not me?" Keito echoed. He didn't understand at all what Hikaru was trying to say, especially with how strangely apologetic he looked.

"It's... Well, it's me, I guess."

_It's not you, it's me._ The stereotypical phrase played over in Keito's head a few times, and he swallowed roughly.

"What do you mean?"

"You're a Gryffindor." Hikaru said, gesturing to him as though that explained everything. Keito just stared back at him.

"So?" He couldn't help but ask after a few moments of silence.

"You're a Gryffindor, and I'm... a Slytherin."

Hikaru said his house name quietly, almost as though it were an Unforgivable Curse, but Keito still didn't understand what he was getting at.

"How does that matter?" He asked. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Hikaru didn't answer his questions right away, just looking at Keito with incredibly soft eyes.

"See, this is part of what makes you so great." He said, and Keito didn't know what to say. He didn't need to say anything though, Hikaru continuing. "I guess you haven't really noticed it because you're in Gryffindor house, but... People still hate Slytherins, you know." He sat back down on the pillow, his legs crossed, and this time Keito sat down with him, tucking his legs under himself and resting his palms on his thighs. He had noticed--it was hard not to--but he still didn't understand what Hikaru was getting at.

"Why does that change anything?”

"Because we were on the wrong side in most of history, for one. You heard what Inoo said when they saw us at Honeydukes."

Keito did remember. It had been an offhand, joking phrase; _I was wondering what a self-respecting Gryffindor was doing, hanging out with a Slytherin like you._ He’d taken it as a jab at Hikaru’s troublemaking personality, not a reference to a lingering stigma and old prejudices. It was a stigma that Keito had never much understood and certainly didn't care for. People should be judged by their individual worth, not mistakes of the past.

"But... You're not...?"

"Of course I'm not!" Hikaru exclaimed quickly, his following apologetic expression showing that he had spoken louder than he had meant to. "I’m even a half blood, I don’t have any… Backwards ideas about people. But that doesn't matter; everyone just sees the Slytherin crest on my robes and makes their own assumptions. And you're from Gryffindor house. I'm just trying to protect you."

"Protect me?" Keito echoed.

"People would talk, with a Gryffindor and a Slytherin dating each other."

"You don't know that." Keito tried. Gryffindor and Slytherin house were often pitted against each other in history books and games young witches and wizards played as kids, but Keito didn't want to think it would carried any further than that. Hikaru however, shook his head, the conviction in his eyes surprising Keito when he spoke again.

"We would get harassed, Keito. And I don't want that for you, okay?"

"...okay." Keito finally said, and Hikaru looked apologetic, leaning in a bit to give him a kiss.

"Don't ever think I'm embarrassed of you, or any of that nonsense. I think you're wonderful."

"Okay." That was a bit easier to accept, Hikaru smiling at him until Keito smiled back. It was hard for him to see a happy expression on Hikaru's face and not respond in kind.

Hikaru reached over, stretching long to reach the magazines on the floor, Keito taking a quick glance at the tabloids as Hikaru stockpiled them in his lap before getting to his feet.

"Come on." He said, helping Keito up as well. "We have a spell to master, and I think you're almost there."


	18. Chapter 18

Hikaru’s reasoning continued to nag at Keito, an uneasy feeling in his chest after they kissed goodbye and walked separate ways. But he didn’t have long to dwell on it, either; the portrait to the Gryffindor common room swung open before he reached it, a few of his fellow house members exiting, giving uneasy glances to himself and each other as they walked away. It didn’t take long for Keito to find out why, hearing shouting before he even walked inside.

Most of the shouting was Yamada, truth be told. He and Daiki were standing at almost opposite ends of the common room and Yamada looked extremely upset, his voice high and strained, his eyes watering and his cheeks pink and blotchy.

“I… I… That’s not what I meant!” Yamada protested loudly. “That’s not what I’m talking about!” Daiki wasn’t looking at him, his gaze angled down, and Keito couldn’t see his face through his hair. The common room had emptied out at this point, Keito the only one there now, standing uncomfortably behind them. Neither had noticed him walk in and he didn’t want to make any noise, stock still behind the now-closed portrait hole, desperate to keep quiet.

“Well Ryosuke, when you know what you want to shout at me, let me know.” Daiki said shortly, crossing the room and pushing past Yamada to get to the exit. He finally looked up, shock on his face when he noticed Keito. Yamada had taken a step forward, maybe in an attempt to go after their friend, but the surprise of Keito being there stopped him too in his tracks. Daiki just brushed past Keito, opening the portrait hole and disappearing, and as soon as he was gone Yamada collapsed to the couch, pulling his knees to his chest and covering his face with his hands.

“...Yamada?” Keito finally asked after a moment, but Yamada didn’t react to his voice, only his shoulders moving as he breathed. “Are you okay?”

He walked over and sat down next to him, unsure whether or not he should put an arm around his friend, torn between giving him space and comforting him as he listened to Yamada’s shaking breaths.

“What were the two of you arguing about?” Keito tried again, and Yamada wiped his face on his sleeves, his nose red and his eyes watery.

“I-I don’t…” He trailed off, and Keito nodded in understanding.

“We don’t have to talk about it.” He said, putting an arm around Yamada now, and Yamada leaned his head on his shoulder with a loud sigh.

“Well, uh…” Keito looked around for something to say, wanting desperately to change the subject in some way and talk about something that would make Yamada feel better. “Yuto and I were planning on going into Hogsmeade this weekend. Do you want to come with us? We could get some treats for Cookie, and--”

“I want to break up with Yuto.” Yamada blurted, the words loud and pent up and sudden, even Yamada himself looking surprised by the way he had spoken. He curled up, putting his chin on his forearms, which were resting across his knees. “Sorry.” He murmured. “I’ve just been thinking about this for a little while.”

“Oh?” Keito felt bad; he’d had no idea. “Why? Are you okay?”

It was a dumb thing to ask, with Yamada sitting there next to him and curled up into a ball, his eyes all red and puffy. Yamada even lifted his head up to give him a look, an almost amused, mostly exasperated expression on his face.

“You know what a meant.” Keito mumbled, and Yamada gave him a tiny smile, nodding.

“I’m… It’s nothing serious.” He said, and Keito doubted that, considering the shouting match he’d just walked into. He had a feeling this wasn’t the first time, either; despite what Yamada told them, he knew his friend had looked angry when he stormed up the stands to grab Daiki by the arm and drag him off during the Second Task. “Daiki just hasn’t been hanging out with us, haven’t you noticed that?”

Honestly no, Keito hadn’t; he had his new boyfriend to worry about and sneak around with. He had been hanging out with his friends a little less as well, but he figured he was just giving Yamada and Yuto more alone time, and that would be good for their whole dating scheme.

“And I mean,” Yamada sighed, pushing himself up into a more upright sitting position, “I know that arguing with Daiki isn’t going to help anything because you don’t yell at someone because you want them to hang out with you, of course, but…” He shrugged. “His distance has been bothering me, I guess. He calls me ‘Yamada’ when I talk to him, instead of ‘Ryosuke’.” Yamada frowned, staring into the fire, and Keito couldn’t help but frown as well. “I think he’s upset with me, and I think it’s Yuto’s fault.”

“Yuto’s fault?” Keito echoed, and Yamada shook his head quickly, rubbing his face with his hands again. The fighting had died down for long enough now that people were beginning to come back into the common room, all of them glancing their way, their expressions ranging from concerned to annoyed. Keito tried not to look at them.

“No, no, that’s not what I meant.” He said. “I mean, Yuto’s fine. I love him and all, but… I love Daiki too. Daiki’s the one I want to be dating, and I realized the other day that ever since Yuto and I started going out, he’s been keeping his distance. And he still has my pygmy puff in his room.”

Yamada chuckled lightly at that, but the humor didn’t quite make it to his eyes, making Keito unsure if he would laugh as well or not. He decided against it, and Yamada let out a long sigh.

“I just miss Daiki, and I love him, and I can’t stand it anymore. I think I have to break up with Yuto.” His voice was definitive, and Keito could tell he’d thought it through, nodding a little.

“Okay.” He said. “I understand. I think Yuto will too.”

“I know he will.” Yamada groaned, stretching his body across Keito’s lap, his expression upset again. “He will! Because he’s such a good friend. I feel terrible. Both of these things make me feel so terrible.”

“Terrible?” Keito asked. “Why?” Yuto was kind, understanding, and thoughtful at an almost painful degree when it came to his friends, which was a shining quality, especially when it came to things like buying presents. He wouldn’t be angry with Yamada for wanting to break up. More than anything, he would be upset if he found out that Yamada had been crying over this.

“Because I agreed to it, you know?” Yamada answered, starting to sound less sad, but more worked up. “I agreed to the fake dating, I agreed to protecting him from all of the love potions and hexes out there, and now I’m going back on it.”

That was a very valid point. With Yamada out of the picture Yuto would be back on the market again, and that included all of the crazy endeared Quidditch fans that came with Yuto’s popularity.

“I’ve tried to think of a few things, maybe, like…” He gestured vaguely. “Pretending we’re still together, or talking to Professor Kimura about it, but that was something Yuto didn’t want to do, and… Hey, you’re not dating anyone, right? Maybe you could date Yuto instead of me.”

Keito flushed seven different shades of red, but Yamada wasn’t really paying any attention. The question hadn’t been a serious one, thrown right in next to “have Yuto fake his own death in the lake or something”, but it still brought that uneasy feeling back into his stomach. As per Hikaru’s request, he hadn’t told any of his friends that they were together. None of them, aside from the ever-absent Daiki, were even aware that they knew each other; Keito had never been specific about who was giving him tutoring lessons, and Yamada mentioning his relationship status hit him over the head with the fact that his friends had no idea. He was hiding things from them, something he had never done before, and it didn’t make him feel good.

“I don’t know.” Yamada finally said, pulling his body up from where it had been laying across the length of the couch, Keito’s lap included. “I still need to think about it, I guess. I want two things, and I can only have one of them. It’s not like I’m going to break up with him tomorrow, or anything, so don’t worry about that. Please just don’t tell Yuto; I need to work this out myself first.”

Keito just nodded. He had tuned Yamada’s past few sentences out, but from what he could tell he hadn’t missed anything important.

“Thanks for talking with me.” Yamada’s voice was a bit abashed, and Keito nodded again. The redness had faded from Yamada’s features, and now, aside from looking slightly drained, it was impossible to tell that much of anything out of the ordinary had happened.

“Of course. Anytime.”

Yamada smiled, the first true smile of the evening, and Keito smiled back at him before Yamada turned away, getting up and fetching his schoolbag.

“You haven’t finished the Charms essay yet, have you? We should work on it together.” He proposed, Keito nodding and standing up to get his own things. Yamada’s predicament had pulled him from his own problem with Hikaru and all the sneaking around, but now it was in the front of his mind again, and Hikaru wasn’t there to look charming enough for him to brush away the feeling in his gut. Pretending and hiding from everyone wasn’t something he wanted, resolving to try and talk to Hikaru about it the next time they had a tutoring session. Until that though, he would honor Hikaru’s request and keep them a secret from his friends.

“And that’s a wrap!” Yabu exclaimed, waving an arm to get his team’s attention as he headed towards the ground. The February wind was howling so fiercely that he doubted any of them actually heard him, but they saw him dismount his broomstick and began to touchdown. They’d done as much as they could during Quidditch practice with the elemental conditions they’d been given, the wind and heavy rain making their clothes weigh down on their bodies and the balls to fly more unpredictably than usual. He wasn’t upset about it, though; flying in this weather was nothing but good practice for facing these conditions during a game, something that was looking more and more likely as their match against Gryffindor grew closer. They had the skills to beat the Gryffindor team thrice over, and Yabu wasn’t about to let a little wind and rain slow them down.

They entered the locker room together, all sopping wet and windblown, looking like they’d been hit by a hurricane. Yabu felt chilled to the bone, stripping out of his wet clothes quickly and shivering as he reached for the dry outfit he’d stuffed in his locker before practice began. A few of their other team members had thought to do the same and others hadn’t, Abe Ryohei siphoning water from his front with his wand, standing next to Yuto and talking to him while the fellow Hufflepuff changed clothes.

“Though, you know,” Yabu heard him say, “I have noticed a significant decrease in people stopping by to watch practices now that you have a boy in your life.”

Yuto shrugged, a little grin on his face, and Yabu decided to butt in.

“It’s probably more to do than the weather more than anything.” He said. “Yuto still held quite the captive audience until the wind started getting too cold. Once the skies dry up he’ll be back to his regular numbers in no time.”

Yuto was blushing at their discussion of his popularity, stuffing his legs into a pair of sweatpants that looked as though he’d outgrown them a year or two ago.

“I don’t know about that.” He told them. “Besides, it might be better if I don’t have a crowd anymore; Ryosuke gets jealous easily.”

Abe cooed at him, and Yabu let out a melodramatic sigh.

“I wish Takaki still got jealous over me.” He said, the wistfulness in his tone overdone to make his teammates laugh. “Inoo pinched my butt the other day and he didn’t even care.”

That got more amusement from the two of them, walking together back inside the school.

“I wish I just had someone to get jealous over.” Abe remarked, Yuto patting him on the back sympathetically. “The closest thing I have to that is the feeling of wretched disappointment when I had to watch damn Tatsuya eat the last of my pumpkin pasties the other night. Are you two headed back to the common room?”

Yuto was the first to shake his head, saying he was meeting up with his friends and heading up the marble staircase to the Gryffindor common room. Yabu also wasn't going to the Hufflepuff common room just yet; his friends were waiting for him in up in Ravenclaw tower, and he told Abe so.

“Plus, I've got to brag to Hikaru about how good we are.” He said with a grin. Abe, however, didn't grin back at the compliment.

“Yeah, Yabu, about that…” He pursed his lips, causing Yabu to frown. “Some of us on the team--we didn't want to talk about it because he's your friend and all, but… Since it looks like we'll be playing the Slytherins in the final match, could you tell him not to come to the locker rooms after practice anymore?”

He offered up a good-natured grin, but Yabu found himself unable to return the expression.

“Why?”

“Well… You don't want him spying on us, right?”

“But he's not.” Yabu said. “You guys know that. He said he's not. He just shows up after practice to say hi to me.”

“He could be watching, though.” Abe insisted. “You don't know where he could be looking at us from.”

“He said he wouldn't spy, and I believe him.”

“But he's a--”

“A what?” Yabu tried hard to keep himself from raising his voice, only half-successful. “A Slytherin? So he's lying to me to get an advantage over is for the Quidditch Cup? Is that what you think?”

Abe fell silent, not meeting Yabu's eyes, and he knew he'd hit exactly what Abe meant, but was trying hard not to say.

“Hikaru may be a Slytherin, but he's also one of the best Quidditch players and best people I've ever known. If the Slytherin team ends up beating us, it'll be through a demonstration of their skills. Got it?”

Abe simply nodded, staying silent, and Yabu walked up to the Ravenclaw common room, trying to keep from fuming. He was sick and tired of justifying his friendship with Hikaru over the years, and his frustration had gotten to a point where he wasn’t patient enough to be nice about it anymore.

The energy it took to climb all of the staircases was enough to burn off the majority of his anger, the rest of it disappearing when he entered the Ravenclaw common room. Whatever he’d expected to see when he entered the room, what Yabu got definitely wasn’t it. Hikaru was sat back on the couch, resting his foot on the opposite knee and looking to be deep in thought. As strange as a serious-faced Hikaru was--especially in times when they were all hanging out together--he was actually the most normal looking one, Yabu’s attention drawn to the floor where the rest of his friends were.

Takaki was face down on the rug. Chinen was perched on his butt, sitting cross legged, and Inoo and Daiki were on either side of Takaki’s head, giving condolences.

“Are you guys… Okay?” Yabu asked, Hikaru looking up at him and offering up the smallest of smiles.

“Takaki’s going to die.” Chinen told him, his voice much too happy for the sentence that had just left his mouth.

“Yuya?” Yabu asked. He got nothing but a small, muffled grunt in response.


	19. Chapter 19

“Think about it this way.” Inoo was saying patiently. “If you win the tournament you’ll get the prize money, and then you can just bribe whoever you need to until they say you don’t have to take the exams and you’re given full marks.” He clapped his hands together at his solution, but Daiki shook his head.

“I don’t think one thousand galleons and bragging rights can take you that far.” He countered. “But getting yourself incapacitated during the third task--that’s something we could work with.”

“You are stupid enough to let yourself get injured.” Chinen added, looking all too pleased with his perch on Takaki’s butt. “That one isn’t a terrible idea.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Yabu asked, stepping over his boyfriend to sit next to Hikaru on the couch. He leaned down, reaching out a concerned hand, but instead of getting up Takaki just took his hand and kissed his knuckles in greeting. Inoo made a face at them.

“Takaki just found out that being the Hogwarts champion only exempts him from the final exams that teachers give, but not from all of his government mandated N.E.W.T.s.” Daiki reported. “It’s a bit… Stressful.”

“If you just start studying now, it won’t be so bad.” Inoo told him, his voice gentle. “That’s how the brain learns best anyway; breaking information together into smaller pieces helps keep it in your memory.”

“Yeah, I guess I could start taking notes in class too.” Takaki allotted, and Inoo looked completely affronted.

“Um, of course you do!” He exclaimed, all of them laughing at his scandalized expression. “How have you made it this far?”

“Kota takes notes in class, and I can read his handwriting most of the time.” Takaki explained, Inoo just clicking his tongue and calling Yabu an enabler. After a bit of wriggling to get Chinen to move, Takaki rolled onto his front with a sigh. Sure enough, he looked a little frazzled, though part of the frazzled look may have been from his face being pressed into the carpet.

“It’ll be fine.” Yabu told him. “The N.E.W.T.s are pretty far from now. You have time.”

Takaki held his gaze of a few moments, and Yabu gave him a reassuring smile and a nod. Finally, Takaki nodded back, reaching out his arms for someone to help him up off the floor. His sleeves fell down his arms, bearing the scabbing gashes on his right forearm.

It had been a little under two weeks since the second task, and the cuts the hippogriff had made on him had been so deep that he was just now able to keep them unbandaged. They hurt to look at, Takaki always catching Yabu’s eyes when he caught him staring and assuring him that everything was fine. Nobody had gotten hurt yet during the tournament, and as a result the whole thing hadn’t really felt dangerous, the mentions of dragons and mermaids from the tournaments of the past seeming ludicrous and outlandish. Watching Takaki get struck down by such a huge, unrestrained beast had been terrifying, and the amount of blood he was covered in when Yabu finally reached him had put a sickening knot in his stomach.

The incident had scared everyone. Thanks to the Triwizard Tournaments of the past, Takaki’s injury had caused a backlash against the event. Takaki was only in the Hospital Wing for the time that it had taken the school nurse to clean, dress, cast a mending spell, and wrap his arm up, but in that time he had been visited by professors, the headmaster, and all of the ministry officials that were there to oversee the event. A reporter even managed to wriggle his way into the room, and while he didn’t say what company he wrote for before he was escorted out, the man’s disappointment when Takaki said he was fine and that no one was to blame had made him so disappointed that Yabu felt he had to be for Witch Weekly.

Takaki's arm had been in a sling for a good while, and the device had been a double edged sword, from what Takaki told him. It elicited a good amount of sympathy from everyone who saw it--Yabu himself included, he had to admit--but it also rendered his dominant hand completely useless. Watching him do basic tasks like brushing his teeth or pulling on his clothes with his left hand was always extremely amusing, and it gave Yabu the opportunity to help him out; pulling a shirt over Takaki's head was always a perfect excuse to also pepper him with kisses. Unfortunately though, the thought of what the Third Task could do to his boyfriend put a bit of a panic in Yabu’s chest, but he was telling himself not to worry about that until the time came.

Inoo and Daiki together got Takaki up on his feet, Daiki mentioning something about putting together a study plan for his N.E.W.T.s while the two led him away to an empty desk. Surprisingly, Takaki didn't struggle, nodding along to what the two were saying. Yabu watched them sit down and pull out books, their departure leaving him alone on the couch with Hikaru. His friend had been amused by the antics of the group as always but he hadn't joined in, and now that they were gone he was back to looking rather pensive, staring into the fire. Yabu looked into the flames too for a few moments before speaking up.

"How are you?" He asked. Hikaru looked surprised to be spoken to, turning to him quickly.

"Oh, I'm fine." He answered, giving Yabu a smile. Yabu just raised an eyebrow--that was an obvious lie--and after a moment Hikaru sighed.  
"You should know better than to think trying to lie to me would actually work." Yabu said dryly. They’d been friends way too long for that and Hikaru knew it, chuckling a little.

"Yeah, yeah." He shrugged. "I'm just thinking. Worried."

"About the third task?"

"Oh, well that too." Hikaru said with a quick nod, and Yabu raised an eyebrow. "But Takaki’s made it this far and he's still all in one piece. I think he'll be alright."

That was true enough, but it was an implication that something else was bothering him, prompting Yabu to ask the question again.

"So what is it that you've got on your mind?"

Hikaru was silent for a long while, and Yabu saw a clear reluctance to answer, cutting in hastily.

"You don't have to tell me." He said. "It's okay."

Hikaru gave him a light smile.

"Thanks." He said. "I just... I don't know. I think I messed up."

Yabu reached over to put a hand on his friend's shoulder, shaking it a little, Hikaru's torso also moving with the motion.

"I'm sure that whatever it is, you can fix it." He told him, and after giving Yabu another smile, Hikaru fell silent again.

Yabu and Takaki headed down to the Hufflepuff common room around an hour later, Takaki now armed with detailed study plan on a piece of parchment. Yabu looked it over, surprised by how thorough yet grueling it looked.

"So, do you think you're going to follow this thing?" He asked. Takaki laughed a little.

"Maybe." He answered. "I mean, I should."

"True. I feel a 'but' coming."

"Incoming!" Takaki said, stopping dead in the middle of the hallway to bump his butt against Yabu's hip, making him laugh. "Really though, Inoo's nagging might be enough for me to at least half ass it, which would still be better than normal."

Yabu gave his boyfriend a smile.

"It'll be great." He said. "You'll be awesome, for the N.E.W.T.s and the Third Task. I just know it."

Takaki beamed at him, Yabu thinking he even saw the faintest of a blush on his face from the compliment.

"Okay." He said. "I'll be awesome, but you have to promise me one thing."

"Yeah?" Yabu asked, surprised.

"Make sure you beat Slytherin's ass for the Quidditch Cup."

Yabu laughed loudly, saying he would, kissing Takaki quickly before they reached the common room entrance.

Hufflepuff's next to last Quidditch match was upon them, hurrying their way faster than Yabu could believe. Thankfully though, as the first days of March began the snow started melting away, the skies drying up to a dreary overcast of grey. Weather was shaping up to be better for their match against Gryffindor, and though Yabu knew it was bad to be cocky, he felt confident in the skills of his teammates and of himself that they would come out on top. Ravenclaw and Slytherin had both already beaten Gryffindor, and with Slytherin and Hufflepuff having already beaten the Ravenclaw team, a victory against Gryffindor would put Slytherin and Hufflepuff against each other for the final match of the season in their battle for the Quidditch House Cup. Yabu was ready for his revenge.

Tensions were high on the day of the match, the importance of the event not missed by any of the Hufflepuff team, getting dressed and getting out their brooms in silence. Yabu met eyes with each of them before it was time to head out to the field, getting confident nods back, unable not to smile.

"Let's do this!" He exclaimed, getting cheers back as they exited the locker room.

The match was fun. It was everything Yabu loved about Quidditch, the sky clear, the cool air enough to keep him from overheating under his robes, and a fair bit of competition, though they managed to dish out at least twice as much as they received from the Gryffindors. The three chasers Gryffindor had were excellent in their teamwork, Yabu making a few mental notes as he watched them play, his coaching side from being captain actually distracting him enough to let the Quaffle through more times than he probably should have. It made for an exciting match though, the crowd cheering when the Hufflepuff seeker put her fingers around the golden Snitch and the match was over.

As with every Quidditch victory, the house threw a party in the common room. Partying was easy in Hufflepuff house, being so close to the kitchens, and as a result it was something that they probably did too often. The match wasn’t close enough to really warrant too much celebration but that had never stopped them before, and Yabu was looking looking forward to the stress relief the party would bring as he and his team climbed the steps to the castle.

The common room was already in full swing when they arrived, Takaki wrapping his arms around his neck as soon as he stepped inside, giving him a strong kiss.

"Good job today, Captain." He said, his tone flirtatious and full of affection, Yabu laughing and kissing him back.

"Why thank you." He answered, his attempt at being equally suave completely dashed as Takaki slid a hand down and pinched his butt, the undignified squeak getting laughs from everyone around them. Yabu felt his face burning up, reaching out to the food table and stuffing a pastry into Takaki's open laughing mouth, who just choked a little as he laughed harder.

"Just Slytherin left, and then the Cup is ours!" Kobayashi exclaimed. She was in the middle of the room, standing on the couch above everyone's heads, a cup raised in her hand. A cheer went up around her words and eyes turned to Yabu to speak, so he thought something up on the spot.

"I don't want us to get cocky." He began, trying to look as dignified as he could while standing next to his boyfriend, who had raspberry cream running down his chin. "We still have work to do. We still have room to improve and grow. But with the work ethic and raw talent this team possesses, that point we want to get to it clear and attainable, and we will beat Slytherin in the final match!"

Cheers rang loud through the room and Yabu beamed around at his team, all of whom were smiling back at him.

"But that hard work starts on Monday." He concluded. "For now, let's celebrate!"

And celebrate they did, Yabu able to feel the tension drain from his shoulders as the night wore on. Takaki took his hand and danced with him, Yabu laughing until his stomach hurt as he was twirled around the room. By the time they'd gotten too tired to be on their feet any longer the moon was high in the sky, Yabu collapsing to the couch with a plate of cookies. He and Takaki were still on the couch together by the time the party had worn itself out, and even after everyone had retreated to bed, only the house elves remaining, cleaning up the food with a snap of their fingers and carrying off the empty plates. Takaki wrapped an arm around Yabu's waist, leaning in to kiss him.

"You're sweet." Takaki told him, and if the observation was from just himself as a person or the painful amount of snickerdoodle cookies that had passed his lips, Yabu wasn't sure. Either way it was a compliment, and he took it.

"I love you so much." He told Takaki, who's affectionate expression went even softer, kissing him again.

"I know you do." He said as he leaned his head on Yabu's shoulder. "It's still nice to hear, though."

Yabu chuckled, kissing the top of his boyfriend's head, causing Takaki to glance up and grin at him. Yabu's next kiss met his lips, as well as the one after that, Yabu melting into Takaki's arms, perfectly content.

Yamada tossed in his blankets, letting out a long, exasperated breath before turning onto his back, looking up blankly. The room was completely dark--it had to be incredibly late by now--and all he wanted was to sleep. The past week had been rough with how little sleep he'd been getting in the night, but he'd hoped that the weekend would be his chance to make up for it. So far he was having no such luck.

He wasn't angry at Daiki anymore. He couldn't be, not really; all of the surface emotions had run their course by now, and all that was left behind was sadness. He was sad, and he hated it.

He and Daiki had gone from attached at the hip to awkward friends, and ever since their last fight in the Gryffindor common room, Yamada wasn't sure that "friends" was a label he could use anymore. Daiki was avoiding him, avoiding him to such a degree that even housemates Yamada didn't know by name had begun to notice. And Yamada couldn't blame him; he couldn't fault Daiki for not wanting to be shouted at again.

Past that, Daiki had made himself busy. He had his new friends. He had his Quidditch matches to commentate. He always had some excuse when he waved off any offers from Keito or Yuto to hang out with them, awkwardly avoiding Yamada's eyes and slipping away. Every time he did, Yamada's chest ached.

Not too keen on being left with his thoughts and knowing he was bitingly close to tears, desperate to avoid all the pathetic feelings that came with crying by himself in the dark, Yamada reached blindly for his wand. He lit the candle on his bedside table with it, feeling that he could at least be productive since he was awake, beginning to lean down for his book bag when an object on his bedside table caught his eye.  
The two way mirror Daiki had given him at the beginning of the year was glinting in the candlelight. They'd used the mirrors heavily at the beginning of the year, often to say goodnight to each other before sleeping, but the use of the mirrors--along with everything else, really--had stopped when he agreed to pretend to date Yuto. He frowned, feeling the burn of tears in his eyes as he picked the mirror up. To his immense surprise, Daiki was looking back at him.


	20. Chapter 20

Daiki was looking into the glass of the mirror, Yamada surprised to see his usually bright face exhausted and forlorn. He looked very similarly to how Yamada felt, but the expression disappeared the instant he saw Yamada, replaced instead by concern.

"Ryosuke?" He asked urgently. "What are you doing up? Are you okay?"

"I..." Yamada's throat was choked up, the genuine care in Daiki's eyes making him too overcome with emotion to answer.

"You're crying. Should I come up there?" Daiki asked, and Yamada touched his cheeks. Sure enough, his fingers came back wet, and Yamada looked behind Daiki, recognizing the overstuffed couch he was sitting on and the warmth of something that could only be firelight illuminating his face. Daiki was on a couch in the common room, putting the mirror down on his blankets to run from his dormitory.

They ran into each other on the stairs, the collision painful but Yamada didn't care, wrapping his arms tightly around Daiki's torso, who swayed on the step in an attempt to keep his balance.

"What's wrong?" Daiki asked again, his voice quiet this time. He reached one arm around to rub Yamada's back. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Yamada pulled back and shook his head, directing his gaze to his feet. He felt so fragile with Daiki standing in front of him, and it must have shown through, his answer not seen as satisfactory.

"Ryosuke, look at me." Daiki insisted, taking Yamada's chin in his hand, Yamada doing as he asked and meeting his eyes. They stood like that for a moment, the air heavy around them, Yamada's heart pounding in his throat. Daiki’s eyes flitted to his lips for a moment and Yamada watched him swallow, realizing Daiki was about to pull back or turn away. Yamada couldn’t bear it, reaching up to slide his arms around Daiki’s neck, closing his eyes as their lips met.

Daiki was warm and soft as he pulled Yamada closer, holding him tightly. Yamada felt light-headed in a mixture of relief, affection, and the remnants of the lump in his throat, letting out a long breath as the kiss broke, resting his forehead against Daiki’s. Daiki rubbed his hands up and down Yamada’s arms, sighing too.

"...we need to talk." He finally said, and as much as Yamada wanted to stand there with him, he knew Daiki was right.

"Okay."

Daiki's hand fell in his as they walked to the couch, Yamada curling his legs up under himself when he sat.

"So... I like you." Daiki finally said, sounding abashed, Yamada's chest tightening at the words. "I like you a lot."

"I like you too." Yamada responded. “A lot.”It was all so obvious once it came out of his mouth that he couldn't help but smile, Daiki beaming back at him, so brightly that Yamada wanted to kiss him again.

"Good." Daiki said, but when Yamada leaned in he pulled back, even retracting his hand. The empty space between Yamada's fingers felt cold.

"Ryosuke, I know you're not really dating Yuto, but..." Daiki laced his own fingers together in his lap. "It already drives me crazy to see the two of you together, and I know I wouldn't be able to stand it if we got together, but it was still him that you were kissing on the cheek and holding hands with. I'm sorry."

"N-no, I understand."

“That’s just… That’s just why I haven’t been around lately. It’s not you, or your fault, or anything like that.” Daiki explained, looking apologetic. “I like you too much, and I couldn’t stand it.”

Yamada nodded silently, playing with his fingers in his lap, feeling suddenly nervous.

“I’ve been thinking about it.” He confessed. “Breaking up with Yuto, I mean. I’ve wanted to, but I just... I didn’t want to do anything to hurt him if the two of us weren’t even friends anymore.”

Daiki’s expression at those words made Yamada immediately want to take his words back. He looked surprised, and a little hurt, but mostly apologetic. The older Gryffindor took his hand again, kissing his knuckles.

“I told you already, Ryosuke. I’m always going to I care about you.”

“I know.” Yamada felt a bit silly as he looked down at their entwined hands, again feeling as though he may have overreacted. And maybe he had, but that was how he’d felt. Daiki let his hand go again but this time it was to open his arms, Yamada crossing the couch to rest his head on Daiki’s chest. Daiki’s arms wrapped around him and they watched the fire together, burning down to nothing but glowing coals, and Yamada knew what he had to do.

He woke early the next morning, the sky outside a pale blue with a grey slate of clouds. He hadn't slept much at all but he wasn't tired, sitting up straight and pushing off his blankets. Keito's bed was already empty, and he hoped that meant his friend was already down in the Great Hall, eating breakfast, and that Yuto was there with him.

Thankfully he was, Yuto and Keito simply talking to each other with empty plates on the table in front of them. Yamada hurried over, sitting down next to Yuto without introduction.

"Oh, hey!" Yuto said, beaming at him, Keito also wishing him a good morning. He smiled and thanked them both, but he couldn't meet Yuto's eyes, his stomach twisting nervously. He'd never broken up with anyone before, unsure of what he was supposed to do. He tried to piece together an opening phrase but was coming up empty, simply opening his mouth and hoping the sentence would find its way as he went.

"Yuto, um... I think we need to talk." Yamada saw Keito's eyes going wide in the corner of his vision, and realized that Keito knew where this was going. Yuto didn’t though, turning with an innocently concerned expression to give Yamada his full attention.

"What's up?"

“I… I want to break up.”

Yuto’s lips fell into a slight frown, his eyebrows drawing together, and Yamada instantly felt terrible.

“Why?” He asked after a moment. “Did I do something?”

“No!” That assumption was the last thing Yamada wanted, desperate to explain. “You didn’t do anything, you’re great, and everything, but…” He launched into his explanation, all of the words coming out in an anxious rush. “But I really, really like Daiki, and we talked last night--and we kind of kissed each other too, but--but anyway…” He waved his hands a little, both Yuto and Keito now wearing matching shocked expressions. “...he’s the one I really want to date, but I can’t do that if I’m also pretending to date you, so I thought a lot about it and I’m really sorry, but… But think we should break up.”

“W-well, yeah!” Yuto was looking slightly overwhelmed by all of the information he had just received, but he nodded anyway. “Of course! Yamada, what are you apologizing for?”

“I don’t know, I feel bad about about it.” Yamada mumbled, his tone also apologetic, and Yuto gave him small smile, his expression suggesting just how silly that was. Yamada couldn’t help himself, his bottom lip quivering as he pulled Yuto in for a tight hug. Yuto laughed, squeezing him and rubbing his back.

“Thank you.” Yamada said into his shoulder, Yuto pulling back and holding him at arm’s length.

“You don’t have to thank me either.” He insisted, giving Yamada a little shake until he smiled. “But you and Daiki, huh? You kissed? You have to tell us everything that happened; Keito and I have been waiting for this for like a year.” He drew the last word out, and Yamada felt his face heating up.

“You have?” Yamada winced a little. “Was I being like… Obvious, or something?”

Yuto and Keito shared a look before the two of them burst into giggles together. They didn’t stop until Yamada yelled and hit them both in the head, a reaction that got enough onlookers to bring his embarrassment back at full force. He crossed his arms, an exaggerated frown on his face.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry.” Yuto said, trying to contain himself. “Really though; what was it like? Is he a good kisser?”

Keito choked a little bit on his laughter again, and despite just how much Yamada wanted to shrivel up and hide his face behind his turtleneck sweater, he also couldn’t help the smile on his face. He gave them an edited version of the events, leaving out all of his sniffly feelings. He was blushing the whole time, but it was impossible not to do so with such an attentive audience; the two of them were practically unblinking, Keito resting his head on Yuto’s shoulder to better stare at him.

“And then he kissed my forehead, and… I went to bed.” Yamada finished, taking in the pure delight on his friends’ faces before covering his own face with his hands. “Stop it! Shut up.”

“You two are so cute!” Yuto exclaimed, looking almost giddy. “You’re so cute and you aren’t even dating yet. This is so exciting!”

Yamada let out a long, muffled groan, covering his face with his forearms now and laying forward on the table.

“Shut up!” He said again, hearing his friends laugh.

“But seriously Yamada, you’ve been wanting to date him since what, the Second Task? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I don’t want you to get drugged again.” Yamada explained. Yuto waved a hand.

“That had to be a one time thing, or something.” He said. “I don’t think it’ll happen again.”

“But the hexes weren’t a one time thing.” Keito pointed out, Yamada nodding.

“We pretended to date each other so you wouldn’t be puking slugs the next time we saw you, and now that you’re single again…” He trailed off, and even Yuto didn’t have a counterargument, falling silent. All of them were quiet for a long moment, trying to think. Keito raised his head suddenly, getting their attention.

“I know someone that could teach Yuto some protection spells, or counter-jinxes. Do you think that would help?”

“Oh?” Yuto asked. “That sounds great. Who is it?”

Today was the day they expected the news of Yuto’s breakup to begin circulating, but that wasn’t what Keito was nervous about. To help Yuto defend himself, he was bringing him along to his Tuesday tutoring session, and he hoped that the unexpected guest would be okay with Hikaru too. He felt that it probably would be--both of them were wonderful people, so they should get along right?--but all the same, it was someone new intruding on the time they usually had alone together.

Keito peeked his head in Professor Kimura’s classroom. As always, Hikaru was there first, beaming at him.

“Keito!” He exclaimed. He was more energetic today than usual, bounding forward to wrap him in a quick hug. Keito tried to take a step back from the affection, but he wasn’t fast enough.

“Hikaru--” He began, but the damage had already been done. Keito could feel the exact moment Hikaru saw Yuto standing behind him, his entire body freezing up before jumping away as though Keito was contagious with a deadly disease. Yuto smiled nervously between them for a moment, and Keito decided he should speak.

“Yuto, this is my Defense Against the Dark Arts tutor, Yaotome Hikaru--”

“I know who he is!” Yuto beamed, bowing, and Hikaru bowed back, smiling a little but perplexed. “You’re an amazing Seeker; I really admire the way you fly.”

“Oh, thank you.” Hikaru said quickly, and they all walked further into the room together. Hikaru’s face still hadn’t returned to a neutral color--the blush from being caught hugging Keito had returned slightly from the compliment, and Keito couldn’t help but smile a bit at how cute he was. “That’s a lot coming from you; I don’t have groups of girls flocking the stands to watch me practice.”

“That’s why he’s here.” Keito cut in, Yuto nodding along to his words. “Sometimes, when Yuto turns people down and stuff, he gets hexed. We were hoping you could teach us some counter-jinxes or something.”

“Sure.” Hikaru agreed readily. “But who’s been asking you out? Don’t you have a boyfriend?”

“They broke up yesterday.” Keito said quickly, Yuto adding,

“We weren’t really dating, anyway.”

Hikaru blinked between them, looking torn between expressing confusion and offering condolences. Yuto just laughed, telling him not to worry about it, and Hikaru got the practice session started.

“Okay.” He began. “What sorts of hexes and jinxes have you been hit with in the past?”

Yuto had to think for a long moment, rattling off even some spells that Keito had never even heard of. Hikaru had to stop him, holding up a hand.

“We’ll start with a simple shielding spell, then. I don’t think memorizing a bunch of counter-jinxes will help too much. We don’t have enough time to learn them all.”

Yuto nodded and they separated to different ends of the room, Keito taking a seat on a desk to watch them. Yuto held his wand up nervously.

“You might have already learned this spell, I don’t know.” Hikaru said. “But a good shielding charm that I wanted to practice with you is ‘Protego’. Do you know it?”

Yuto nodded, bringing his wand straight down in the movement for the shielding charm. Hikaru nodded.

“Good. It’s a useful spell. Now, I’m going to pretend that I’m a player on the Slytherin Quidditch team, and you pretend you’re a player on the Hufflepuff team.” The truth in the proposed scenario made Yuto laugh, Hikaru smiling a little as he continued. “Now, since I’m a conniving Slytherin, I’m going to try and jinx you in the hallway instead of playing you fair and square, and you’re going to block me.”

“You’re just afraid you’re going to lose.” Yuto said. He was grinning and Hikaru raised his eyebrows at the statement, amused.

“In this scenario, or in the next few weeks?” He asked.

“Both.”

His confidence had taken Hikaru by surprise, but because of the light smacktalk Yuto had become disarmed, completely unprepared as the Bat-Boogey Hex came at him in full force, hitting him in the face. Yuto stumbled backwards, Keito getting to his feet in concern.

“Are you okay?” Hikaru asked after a moment, Yuto straightening up. The Bat-Boogey Hex was unflattering to say the least, and once Yuto had established that he was nothing more than quite uncomfortable, it was hard for Keito to stifle his laughter.

“Well, this is a good teaching moment.” Hikaru said as a bat dislodged itself from Yuto’s left nostril. Hikaru looked a bit frazzled and Keito knew why; usually he was the one being hit with spells, not the other way around. “The counter-spell I was planning on teaching you is a general one, good for undoing any range of spells or hexes.” He pointed his wand at Yuto’s face, drawing a shield in the air with his wand and saying “Finite Incantatem.”

There was a silence as Yuto scrunched and unscrunched his nose, then the Hufflepuff burst into laughter. Keito smiled as the tension drained from Hikaru’s face, that reaction obviously a comforting one, and they continued.


	21. Chapter 21

With Yuto moreso on his game with the shielding charm, not many more of Hikaru’s attacks actually touched him. Keito got to try as well, but he had the feeling that his attempts at Tarantallegra and Titillando were rather weak; charms like those worked best with some sort of mischievous intent behind them, and though neither of those incantations were very harmful, the last thing Keito wanted to do was harm Yuto.

“Now… The fun part.” Hikaru said with a sigh. They’d been at this for nearly an hour now, Yuto blocking just about every hex Hikaru could think of. “I want both of you to practice this one, so Yuto can use it, obviously, and so Keito can use it too if Yuto is incapacitated in some way.”

“Finite Incantatem?” Yuto guessed. Hikaru nodded. “So wait, that means…”

“That means you get to jinx me.” Hikaru finished. Yuto beamed.

“It’s our turn to be the conniving Slytherins.” He remarked, Hikaru nodding with a chuckle.

“Because there’s no way a Hufflepuff or a Gryffindor would throw hexes at their Quidditch opponents, right?” Hikaru’s voice was light but his eyes were angled at his feet, and Keito frowned, wondering if his amused tone was genuine.

“Ready?” Yuto asked, raising his wand, Hikaru glancing up and nodding back. They looked poised for a duel, but for their practice Hikaru didn’t try to defend or retaliate, Yuto waving his wand and exclaiming,

_ "Steleus!”_

Hikaru’s braced face turned immediately to confusion, Keito looking at Yuto as well; he didn’t recognize that spell at all. Green rings shot from Yuto’s wand, hitting Hikaru in the face, and for a moment nothing happened.

“Wha--” Hikaru began, before he was cut off by a loud, violent sneeze. Yuto began to laugh.

“You…” Hikaru sneezed again. “You’re making me sneeze?”

Yuto nodded, very self-satisfied, and Hikaru sneezed so roughly that he stumbled backwards.

“Fix me!” He exclaimed, and Yuto managed out “Finite Incantatem!” through giggles. Hikaru straightened up, rubbing his face.

“You’ll have to teach me that one.” He requested of Yuto, who nodded in agreement. “I’d love to use it on… Well, anyone, really.”

Then he replanted his feet, spreading his arms out wide.

“Come on, Keito.” He gave Keito a small smile, an affectionate and playful lilt in his voice. “Hit me.”

It felt a bit like a challenge and Keito grinned back, raising his wand. It was common for Keito to complain during their lessons, protesting the idea of sending curses or spells Hikaru’s way, but now Hikaru was asking for it, with Yuto right beside him, a grin on his face.

_“Locomotor Wibbly!”_ He exclaimed, orange light coming from his wand as he brandished it in Hikaru’s direction. All three of them recognized the Jelly-Legs Jinx, Hikaru laughing in protest as his legs went wobbly. There was nothing for him to hold on to where he was standing in the room, stumbling over as they both laughed and hanging heavily on Keito’s shoulder.

“Well?” He prompted, trying to sound haughty, but he was smiling. “Do you mind?”

Hikaru was so close to him, so happy and full of amusement, and all Keito wanted was to kiss him and watch his cheeks turn pink. But Yuto was there, so he just pointed his wand at Hikaru’s legs.

“Finite Incantatem.”

They practiced for nearly another half hour, casting various inconsequential spells on each other and negating them. It was incredibly fun, only ending when Professor Kimura came back into his office and gave them all strange looks. They stumbled out of the classroom together, all still laughing at each other, and when Yuto revealed they were about to part ways, he bowed to Hikaru.

“Thank you so much!” He exclaimed. “This was so helpful. I’m glad to have finally met you.”

“Same to you.” Hikaru said with a smile. “It was really nice to meet you too! I never knew Keito had such nice friends. It almost makes me feel bad about beating you for the Quidditch Cup.”

“Don’t worry, you won’t.” Yuto replied cheekily. Hikaru laughed, bidding them farewell as he walked off in the direction of the dungeons. Yuto’s grin turned to Keito now, a lot more excited, and the slight skip in his step made Keito ask,

“What?”

Yuto didn’t answer, nudging him insistently with his elbow.

“What? What is it?” Keito asked again, and Yuto finally answered.

“Did you see the way he was smiling? I think he likes you.”

Keito could feel a blush rising on his face, and he had no idea what to say to that.

Hufflepuff versus Slytherin. The last Quidditch match of the season and the fight over the Quidditch Cup. Slytherin were up by two hundred points because of how utterly they had defeated Gryffindor during their first match in November, so Hufflepuff had to score at least fifty points before catching the Snitch or they would win the game but lose the cup. So really the job of the players was twofold--the Chasers had to score as many points as possible on the Slytherin Keeper as quickly as they could, and the Beaters needed to keep the Slytherin Seeker away from the Snitch at all costs.

And Keito knew all of this because Yuto had talked about literally nothing else for the week leading up to the event. He had been living and breathing Quidditch, and Keito might have found it annoying if not for how passionately Yuto always got when talking about it. If anything, it was actually a little inspiring.

Yuto’s anxious lead up to this match had Keito nervous as well, bouncing his leg as he waited up in the stands next to Yamada. His boyfriend might have been on the Slytherin team, but he still wanted the Hufflepuffs to win. He turned to Yamada, wanting some small talk to occupy him, realizing after looking at his friend that there would be no use in trying to get his attention. Yamada was staring over at the announcer’s podium where Daiki was standing, getting lectured by Professor Takizawa; the previous match had been Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor, and he’d ended up saying a few choice words. Yamada had vehemently defended him--“He was just calling the Ravenclaw captain out for cheating!”--but to Yamada nowadays, Daiki could do no wrong. Not to say that Daiki usually did anything wrong, but Keito had caught Yamada staring dreamily at Daiki eating barbeque at dinner the other night with the sauce all over his face, and Keito began thinking that it was getting a bit out of hand.

“Daiki!”

The shout got Yamada’s attention, and since it hadn’t come from either of them they looked about wildly, trying to find the source of the noise. Yamada noticed them first--perhaps because Daiki waved--pointing at a group heading up the stadium stairs, and Keito recognized them all. It was Hikaru’s friends; their Hogwarts champion, Takaki Yuya, the Ravenclaw with the devil cat, Inoo Kei, and Chinen Yuri. Inoo looked up and saw them, taking charge of the group and heading their way.

Chinen smiled, sitting down next to Keito, and Keito smiled nervously back. He liked Chinen fine, in truth, but the third year boy confused him sometimes. Inoo was looking scrutinizingly at an awkward-looking Yamada.

“Hi.” Yamada finally said, scooting a little bit closer to Keito’s side.

“You must be that cute boy Daiki’s in love with.” He said, before sitting down next him. Yamada turned scarlet, and Takaki gave Yamada an apologetic look before taking a seat on Inoo's other side.

“...cute?” Yamada finally asked. Inoo waved a hand.

“I mean, whenever he talks about you he uses some synonym for implying that someone looks nice, but yeah. I think we’ve heard them all already. Daiki must be a great boyfriend.”

“Oh, um… He’s… We’re not, yet…” Yamada mumbled.

“What?” Takaki asked. All of the newcomers were shocked, and Yamada just smiled into his hands. Even Keito had been surprised that Yamada and Daiki hadn’t started dating the second Yamada was single, but apparently they’d wanted to “reconnect again” or something before giving a relationship a try. Keito didn’t really understand it, in all honesty, but it wasn’t his relationship so he didn’t question it. He couldn’t tell where their line between friendship and relationship was either, because there was plenty of kisses on the cheeks and cuddling happened anyway. He was sure though, that when it finally did happen, he would hear all about it.

Cheers erupted from the stands as the Quidditch teams strode onto the field, their faces stony, serious, and set. It wasn’t until the yelling had died down that Takaki shouted, startling all of them.

“Go Kota!”

The exclamation echoed around the stadium but Takaki didn’t seem embarrassed, simply smiling, and Keito looked down to see that the Hufflepuff captain looked a little less tense. Then the whistle was blown, the Quaffle tossed into the air, and the game started. Daiki’s commentation began as soon as the whistle was blown, out into a Quidditch pitch full of cheers.

“This is it! The match that determines the winner of the Quidditch Cup! A similar match occurred last year, with Slytherin coming out on top--in a miraculous show of butterfingers, Abe Ryohei has taken the Quaffle from a Slytherin chaser--he’s driving it down the field--a nice save by Watanabe Shota, Hufflepuff beater--he shoots--ten points to Hufflepuff! First score of the match!”

His last words were drowned out by the cheers from the stands as the Quaffle soared past the Slytherin Keeper and through the circular ring at the top of the goalpost. Keito joined in, Abe circling around the stands in a victory lap, throwing his fist in the air.

“Now the Hufflepuff team needs only forty points to close the gap between themselves and the Slytherins! Chaser Kutsuna Shiroi has the Quaffle for the Slytherin team…”

Keito cast his eyes around, looking around at all the players, and it took him a good minute or so to find who it was that he was looking for. Hikaru was hovering a good ten, fifteen feet over the action, his eyes traveling the Quidditch pitch. The Hufflepuff Seeker and one of the Hufflepuff Beaters were hovering hear him, ready to strike if it seemed as though he spotted the Snitch. As if with alignment with Keito’s thoughts, Hikaru suddenly dived, hurtling towards the Hufflepuff side of the field at an almost alarming rate.

“It seems as though Yaotome Hikaru has spotted the Snitch! Someone stop him; this is the championship match! It should last a little longer, just to keep things interesting.”

The implied bias in Daiki’s commentary got him a reprimanding look from Professor Takizawa, Keito noticed, but regardless Hikaru’s chase was ended quickly; Kobayashi Ryoko, the Hufflepuff Seeker, had ducked under Hikaru and cut in front of him, and as Hikaru swerved to avoid a collision, it seemed as though the Snitch had disappeared.

Yuto though, had taken advantage of the diversion; the Quaffle had been thrown to him and he was streaking down the field. He took his shot at a surprising distance, Keito lifting slightly from his seat, afraid the large red ball wouldn’t make it.

“Another ten points to Hufflepuff, an amazing shot by the phenomenal Nakajima Yuto! Who is single now, by the way. If hopefuls would stop hexing him upon rejection, he would really appreciate it. And how do I know all this? I’m planning on asking his ex out once this game is over.”

All eyes in their little group turned to Yamada, who had flushed from his neck to his ears. But Daiki wasn’t finished.

“I know Yuto’s the heartthrob and all, but honestly, his previous boyfriend, in my opinion, is much more...Right, right the match. Sorry Professor.”

Yuto scored another goal nearly immediately after his first one, followed by a goal by the Slytherin team. The Slytherins were gaining confidence, and the Hufflepuffs were still waiting for enough of a point gap to go after the Snitch.

“It’s Nakajima Yuto again with the Quaffle. He shoots, he scores, he--”

Daiki was drowned out by a collective gasp rippling through the crowd. A Bludger had been hurtling through the air in an attempt to stop Yuto’s goal, but it had been hit too late; it collided with the side of his body and he collapsed in on himself in pain, his broom sent spinning. The girl who had hit the bludger even looked shocked, Yuto's torso obviously not where she had been aiming, and Yabu immediately called for a time out, a few of Yuto’s teammates rushing over to help him to the ground. The Slytherins convened as well, up in the air.

“Hufflepuff has called a timeout. Nakajima has been hit by a Bludger from the Slytherin Beater Tsubasa Honda.”

The girl still had her eyes on Yuto and Keito did too, standing to get a better look. A large amount of the stadium was on their feet in concern, a few teachers heading down from the stands to where the Hufflepuff huddle was.

Yuto began straightening up and shaking his head to whatever it was the captain was asking him, but Keito could see him swallowing and breathing hard. After some poking to Yuto’s afflicted side and a few shrugs Yabu called off the timeout, all of the Hufflepuffs taking to the air as the Slytherin team broke apart to resume the match.

“And it begins again! Thirty-ten to Hufflepuff.”

Over the course of the next half hour, after a thorough push and pull of the Quaffle, Hufflepuff was a good sixty points up at ninety to thirty. That lit a fire under both of the Seekers, Kobayashi Ryoko not tailing Hikaru anymore, but the Snitch seemed to have disappeared on them. The teams were matched incredibly well in both their defense and offense, and despite the match’s continuing length there was never a dull moment, the entire stadium on their feet.

“Finally, now that Frodo has been given the time to take to ring to Mordor, Yaotome has again caught sight of the Snitch!”

Keito, who had been watching Yuto pass the Quaffle around, looked desperately around the field for Hikaru. His boyfriend was in a steep downward tilt, nearly perpendicular to the ground as he flew, the Hufflepuff Seeker dashing after him. He pulled from the dive steeply, turning sharply to the right, and Keito was able to see it, the tiny shimmer of gold Hikaru was stretching his hand out towards. Kobayashi was gaining on him, but she wasn’t doing it fast enough; any moment now the game would be over, the entire stadium shouting--

Then a Bludger crashed into the tail end of Hikaru’s broom and he was sent spinning. The Hufflepuff Seeker didn’t even blink an eye, rocketing past him, her fingers closing around the golden, fluttering ball.

“Kobayashi of Hufflepuff has caught the Snitch! The game goes to Hufflepuff, two hundred and forty to thirty. Hufflepuff wins the Quidditch Cup!”


	22. Chapter 22

An avalanche of applause and cheering spilled over the grounds as the entire Hufflepuff team swarmed their Seeker, the poor girl disappearing under a pile of yellow robes. Takaki was the first one from his seat in the stands, already running down the steps by the time Keito realized he was gone. The rest of them quickly followed, a large crowd joining them in jumping over the barrier and rushing onto the field as the Hufflepuffs, still in a dogpiled mess, sank slowly to the ground. Yabu was on top, his long arms wrapped around everyone, and was therefore the first to rise, his face overflowing with happy emotion. Takaki grabbed him once he’d stepped back from his team, squeezing him around the middle and spinning him around.

The Slytherins had touched down too, and Keito snuck a glance at Hikaru. Surprisingly, he didn’t look angry at the loss, or even very disappointed; he had a bit of a smile on his face as he watched his friends.

“Keito!” Came a yell from his left, Keito turning just in time to recognize the form streaking his way as Yuto before the Chaser collided with him, throwing his arms around Keito’s neck and nearly knocking him from his feet.

“Congratulations!” Keito told him, Yuto letting his head fall back in an overjoyed laugh.

“We did it! We actually won!”

“As though that was in question. You said you would, didn’t you?”

The new voice had both of them turning in unison, still in the middle of their hug, to see Hikaru standing there. He gave Yuto a smile, who jumped off of Keito to bow to him.

“That was an amazing game!” He said, his eyes sparkling. “You flew so well!”

“So did you.” Hikaru told him, but before Yuto could say anything more his eyes caught something over Keito’s shoulder, shouting Yamada’s name and dashing off again.

“Full of energy.” Hikaru remarked, and Keito nodded.

“You did fly really well.” Keito told him, and Hikaru gave him a smile. “Sorry that you didn’t win.”

“Nah.” Hikaru waved a hand, shrugging a little.. “It’s Yabu’s last year; he deserved to win at least once.”

As if on cue, the aforementioned Quidditch captain appeared, hanging heavily on Hikaru’s shoulder and beaming.

“Party in the kitchens tonight!” He exclaimed, his voice loud, Hikaru looking at him in amusement. “You’re invited! The whole Slytherin team is invited, if they want to come.”

Keito was also invited, he found out, along with Daiki and Yamada too. They ate dinner, then met up with Yuto outside the bowl of fruit painting on the corridor to the Hufflepuff dormitory. Yuto beamed when he saw them, hugging them all before turning to the painting. The portrait was huge, going nearly from the floor to the ceiling, and he reached up to tickle the painting’s green pear. To Keito’s surprise, the large piece of fruit giggled before turning into a knocker, the door to the kitchens appearing.

Keito had never been inside the kitchens before, but upon seeing the room, couldn't believe he’d missed out on such an amazing place for the past four years. It was a giant space, as large as the Great Hall and laid out identically, the four long house tables stretching out across the room. Around all the edges were the pots, pans, cups, and plates doubtlessly needed to keep the kitchen functional, as well as a large fire across one wall.

Inside, the party was already raging. It was a little alarming to walk into, truth be told; aside from Yuto of course, all of Keito’s interactions with Hufflepuffs had more or less been kind and polite. But the noise in the kitchens was explosive, people talking and dancing and laughing together, food and drink everywhere, house elves weaving nimbly between the party-goers with trays of food and glasses of butterbeer.

A cheer rose up as Yuto re-entered the kitchens, the sound started by his teammates and following throughout the entire room. Keito knew the applause was really just for Yuto, but being in front of all of the cheering was slightly embarrassing nonetheless.

The entirety of Hufflepuff house was there by the look of things, along with a few friends from other houses. Despite Yabu’s invitation to the team, Keito could see only a few hesitant Slytherins milling throughout the other students, sticking closely by each other and not really being talked to by anyone else.

Except for Hikaru. Keito found him after some silent searching; he was talking, laughing, and standing in a group with his friends. Keito was unsure whether or not it would be okay to approach him though, hanging back with Yuto, who was engaged in what was apparently a hilarious conversation with a few of his teammates, but it must have been some inside joke because Keito felt hopelessly lost. Yamada and Daiki had disappeared in the crowd.

The party was fun, but all the same Keito felt slightly out of place. He was incredibly happy for his friend, of course, but with Daiki and Yamada off in their own little world and Hikaru involved with just about everyone else there, Keito didn’t want to stick to Yuto the whole time and take away from his night. So he found himself in a corner after a little while, laughing a little as he watched Yuto shotgunning Canary Creams before popping with a large “squawk!” into a gigantic, yellow bird. Feathers flew over the crowd surrounding him, and a roar of laughter rang out as Yuto began the chicken dance.

“He’s quite the life of the party.” Came a happy voice in his ear. Keito jumped, nearly spilling his butterbeer all over himself, feeling a bit breathless as he turned around.

“Hikaru!” He exclaimed in surprise. The Slytherin Seeker smiled at him.

“Hey. Having fun?”

Keito nodded, and Hikaru raised an eyebrow.

“Why are you in a corner then?”

“Just…” He shrugged. “Taking a bit of a break. Is it okay for you to be seen with me?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Hikaru asked, though he did take a step away from Keito, putting a more respectable distance between them and withdrawing his hands. “We’re friends, aren’t we? I’m helping you pass Defense Against the Dark Arts, after all. I must like you a little bit.” Then he glanced around, adding more quietly “And someone brought out some firewhiskey, so even if they see anything, they probably won’t remember it in the morning.”

Keito nodded a bit, looking out over the partying masses.

“Are you having a good time?”

“Definitely.” Hikaru stretched his hands up over his head. “I mean sure, I would have loved to win, but these guys deserved it. Yabu will be graduating, and that Yuto kid is a natural. The school would have been after us even more than usual if we beat Mr. Flawless at his first ever shot at the Quidditch Cup.”

Keito followed Hikaru’s eyes; he was looking into the crowd at Yuto, who had turned back into his normal, wingless self, still dancing, a gaggle of admirers around him.

“He’s a good kid.” Hikaru finished, and Keito nodded.

“Yeah. I like him.”

“Not as much as me though, right?” There was a teasing lilt in Hikaru’s voice, an amused, affectionate light in his eyes as he looked down at Keito, who nodded back, smiling a little.

“Of course.”

Hikaru beamed openly at that, looking as though he made to get closer, and maybe touch him in some way and Keito wanted him to, some touch of his hand or kiss on the cheek. But he just watched as Hikaru thought better of it, holding up his empty cup in explanation as he walked away towards the tables of food and drink. Keito watched him go, reigning in a sigh, a couple to his right catching his attention. It was the Quidditch captain and his Triwizard champion, both of them doubtlessly less than sober, twirling and laughing and hanging on each other. Takaki Yuya pressed a few clumsy kisses to Yabu’s face and his hair and Yabu laughed, bright pink and happy.

A few minutes later Yamada and Daiki appeared from the woodwork on the other side of the room. While neither of them were intoxicated they looked just as smitten, holding hands and talking though giggles. Keito glanced back at Hikaru, a small twinge of sadness echoing in his chest.

Yabu woke up late in the afternoon the day after the party in Takaki's bed, in Takaki's arms, the impression of the light on his eyelids aggravating his headache before he even opened his eyes. He groaned and rolled, pressing his face into Takaki's chest.

“Good morning.” Takaki mumbled, his voice thick with sleep.

“Why are you always the big spoon?” Yabu mumbled back, getting a chuckle in response.

“Because lying on you is like lying on a pile of coat hangers.”

It took Yabu an entire weekend to get over his hangover, and a full week to care about anything other than the fact that his team had beaten Slytherin and won the Quidditch Cup. He was in Charms when reality came crashing back down on his shoulders, a reality much less fun than the post-winning dream he’d been floating around in.

“And it would be best to jot these side effects down.” Professor Takizawa was saying. “They will doubtlessly be on your exam, and will probably be on the N.E.W.T. as well.”

Takaki began diligently taking notes next to him, and Yabu snapped back to life.

“Wait, exam?” He asked, the entire class glancing his way. Professor Takizawa raised an eyebrow.

“Well, yes.” He said, slightly perplexed, as though someone had just asked a rather suspicious Engorgement Charm question. “The end of term exam. It’s coming up in a little over a month now.”

The rest of life, as it happened, hadn’t also put itself on hold for the Hufflepuff win. It was a rude awakening, Yabu returning to the common room that evening to find himself laden down with homework. Takaki, on the couch next to him, was in the same boat.

“I’m sorry.” He told Takaki, who gave him a questioning look. “I’ve been a bit out of it lately, haven’t I?”

“Don’t apologize.” Takaki reprimanded instantly. “No, it’s been cute. It was like someone had hit you with an overcharged Cheering Charm or something.”

“But I’m supposed to be helping you with academics, and the Tournament, and stuff.” Yabu gasped in realization. “Wait, if the end of year exams are coming up, when is the Third Task?”

“Exactly one month from tomorrow.” Takaki told him. His voice was casual but his body language was not, swallowing when he finished, the fingers of his left hand going over to rest on his right forearm, where sleeves covered pink but fading hippogriff scars.

“We need to prepare!” Yabu exclaimed. “For everything! Have you worked out the clue yet?”

“There is no clue.” Takaki said resignedly, resting back on the couch. “ They told us that the last two tasks weren’t connected in terms of content, so… I don’t know what to expect.”

So, instead of attempting to prepare for all circumstances with birds, feathers, or the color gold, they began to prepare for everything. During Yabu’s week of mental absence Inoo and Daiki had started teaching Takaki some good general spells, or practicing with him some that he already knew. Yabu jumped in, helping Inoo scour spellbooks for anything helpful. He, Inoo, and Takaki sat down at a table in the Ravenclaw common room together, cracking open spellbooks, Yabu choking on the dust from a rather old copy of “Basic Hexes for the Busy and Vexed”.

“You don’t think he’ll need to know Alarte Ascendare, do you?” Inoo asked with a frown, his quill poised over his parchment, ready to write the spell down on his list if the consensus was a positive one. Yabu looked over at Takaki, eyebrows raised in question, but all Takaki offered was a sheepish grin.

“Could you remind me what that one does again?”

Inoo heaved a sigh. “We learned it in our second year!” He exclaimed huffily before reading aloud,

“This spell, accompanied by a brandish of the wrist and a red stream of light, can launch objects, living or dead, into the air. The height the object can achieve depends on the weight of said object, as well as the force the witch or wizard applies to the spell itself.”

“So will I need to know how to catapult stuff in the air, you mean?” Takaki asked. “I don’t know.”

Inoo just gave him a look before writing it down.

“What about Anteoculatia? Or Arania Exumai? I can’t imagine what use it would be to turn someone’s hair to antlers in the Third Task, but you may run into a giant spider or two, considering the hoard of them that lives in the Forbidden Forest…”

Takaki turned a bit white at the notion of encountering those spiders again, Yabu giving him a reassuring smile as Inoo let out a small shout of inspiration, scribbling quickly.

“Yes, Arresto Momentum, that’s a crucial one…”

A full three days later, Yabu felt as though they’d gone through the entire “Incantations” section in the library, and Takaki was laden down with a rather impressive list of spells Inoo thought he ought to be proficient at for the task ahead.

“And hey,” he insisted at Takaki’s bewildered expression as he glanced through all of the parchment pages, “Even if you don’t end up using them all, you’ll pass your Charms N.E.W.T. with flying colors.”

They began meeting up a lot to prepare, someone working with Takaki somewhere in the castle at least once a day. Yabu tried to do it as often as he could, dragging Inoo along if possible, but was hard between his own revisions, homework, and his Head Boy duties, so when something came up Daiki or Hikaru would volunteer. Usually they would travel together, Hikaru sneaking ahead to find some empty classroom to practice in, and they would share the space, Takaki learning spells on one half of the room while the rest of them huddled together on the other end of the room to study for their end of year exams, writing essays or drawing up charts or reading textbooks. It was nice, really, to have someone to casually chat with while finishing coursework--which had increased dramatically thanks to the approaching end of the year--and their little group was growing.

Daiki had taken to occasionally bringing along his new boyfriend. Coincidentally enough, he was also Yuto’s ex-boyfriend and somehow not ever Yuto’s boyfriend at all, the logistics of the situation something Yabu had given up on trying to wrap his head around, but Yabu liked him all the same. Yamada Ryosuke was a cute-faced fourth year that was in Gryffindor house with Daiki himself, and sometimes Yabu just caught himself watching the two of them, enamored by the way they interacted. They were gentle, teasing, and incredibly comfortable, and it was so sweet when they smiled at each other that Yabu caught himself smiling too. Hikaru told him he was being weird and he probably was, but he couldn’t help it.

Usually when Yamada came, Yuto came too, and when that happened Yuto usually brought his friend Keito, who Yabu recognized as the younger student that Hikaru was tutoring. It felt almost weird to see him in such a normal, consistent manner, because he also had a way of turning up at strange times. He would appear around the back of the Quidditch locker room, or would be leaving bathrooms and empty classrooms at the same time that Yabu caught Hikaru outside of them to talk, and Yabu had a few vague memories of Keito hanging out with Hikaru at their Quidditch Cup party. He didn’t really think it weird when he saw Keito and Hikaru together--they were student and mentor, after all--but sometimes they would look at each other for a little too long and he had a strange feeling that there was something Hikaru wasn’t telling him.

Takaki was doing an incredible job keeping up with all of his assigned work and extra lessons, and while Yabu was proud of him for it all, he was also beginning to get worried. Heavy bags were growing under his boyfriend’s eyes, and it was becoming a struggle for him to stay awake during class. He didn’t go to bed early though, either; the evening was his time to get his homework finished. Yabu had never seen him work this hard, and a week before the final task, he couldn’t watch it anymore.

“It’s Friday night, let’s just go to bed.” He insisted, trying to pull Takaki’s Herbology book from his hands. “You have all weekend to get this essay finished.”

“So I should get this done early, right? And I haven’t even started on my chart for--”

“No.” Yabu answered flatly, packing Takaki’s things back into his bookbag, his boyfriend watching him with an exhausted and slightly unfocused expression. He slung the heavy bag over his shoulder before reaching down for Takaki’s hands, taking them, and pulling him to his feet. “We’re going to bed early, and then we’re sleeping in late. You need it. You look dead on your feet.”

Despite his attempted protests, Takaki gave him a weary smile as they made their way up the dormitory steps, Takaki not even bothering changing into his pajamas before getting into bed. He fell asleep less than ten minutes after his head hit the pillow, and Yabu felt quite proud of himself as he looked down at the sleeping face. He crawled into bed too--they did have a full day ahead of them, after all--and closed his eyes.

When he opened them again the moon was high in the sky, the silvery light streaming in through the window. He squinted and glanced around, trying to find what it was that woke him when he froze, realizing he could hear something.

Takaki was mumbling in his sleep, tossing a bit as he spoke. He was slowly getting louder and more articulate, and Yabu couldn’t help a small chuckle when he realized what was happening.

“Mobiliarbus.”

Takaki was muttering spells in his sleep, ones he’d been drilled on over the past week. It was a little cute, really, Yabu getting up to close the blinds so he could get back to sleep in peace. He was halfway out of bed when Takaki spoke again, and orange sparks shot past Yabu’s shoulder, surprising him so much that he nearly fell to the floor.

“Everte Statum!” Takaki said again. His eyes were still closed but his voice was getting louder and more clear, Yabu realizing with a jolt of sudden fear that Takaki had reached into the pocket of his robes while dreaming, and was casting very real spells around the dormitory. The one he’d just shot in Yabu’s direction was a powerful dueling spell, able to send opponents flying or cause sharp pains. He wasn’t sure what to do; he needed to get Takaki’s wand away, but he was afraid of getting too close.

He jumped to his feet and pulled the blinds over the windows before creeping back to the bed. Takaki’s wand was still up but it was hanging more limply, and his voice had dropped back down to a slurred mumble. Yabu reached out, fingers just inches away from taking the wand safely from Takaki’s grip--

“Reducto!”

The blue sparks shot past him, missing his face by mere centimeters and blasting a hole in the wall behind his head. The great crack caused by the explosion woke nearly everyone, surprised grunts and questions being called out throughout the room. Takaki sat up wildly, looking around.

“Wha…? Whasappened?” He asked, his eyes wide open and completely unfocused, blinking fast and trying to comprehend what was going on.

“It’s fine. It’s all fine, go back to sleep.” Yabu told him soothingly, reaching over and to take Takaki’s wand. He tried to keep his hands from shaking; his boyfriend had nearly just blasted his face off. “Just… Give me this, though.”

Takaki just nodded, obviously still more than half asleep, handing his wand over before simply rolling and closing his eyes again. Yabu made sure to keep Takaki’s wand out of reach every night after that.


	23. Chapter 23

If the Ministry officials were trying to keep the upcoming Third Task a mystery, they weren’t doing it very well. Everyone came to Takaki to tell them about seeing people in the dungeons, official-looking people doing official-looking things, and by the time their Potions class came around, Yabu saw them too. It was definitely something Tournament related, but any snooping he attempted got him turned sternly away. Hikaru just smirked and told them to leave it to him.

He entered the Ravenclaw common room a few days later, out of breath but beaming. He bent double, taking a few deep breaths before collapsing on the couch next to Yabu.

“Well?” They all asked him at once.

“I just gave Professor Takizawa and Imai Tsubasa the slip.” Hikaru said after a few more breaths, trying to get his breathing under control. “I was definitely not supposed to be down there. And those two are totally kissing in broom closets, by the way.”

“Okay, but did you find out anything that everyone doesn’t already know?” Inoo asked him dryly.

“Or useful?” Yabu added. Hikaru gave them all disgruntled looks, as though offended by their lack of interest in his scoop of gossip. Then he continued.

“I mean, I couldn’t see too much. I had to peek through cracked doors and stuff.” He said quickly. “But yeah, there’s some stuff down there. Potion bottles, some weird, silver instruments--a ton of candles--and there was a wardrobe, and it was shaking, and growling… Though the growling may have been our Charms Professor.”

He grinned at his joke, Inoo snorting while Takaki pulled a face. Yabu though, was more concerned by the potions and the banging wardrobe.

“Could you tell what the task was, though? Like… There aren’t any creatures, right?”

Hikaru nodded. “No creatures.” He said. Yabu let out a breath, relief filling his lungs as he inhaled, and he felt Takaki relaxing slightly next to him. Knowing where task took place and that no creatures were involved made him feel much better, Takaki confessing to him the night before the Third Task that he actually felt prepared. Not to win--he was in last place and he knew it--but to survive, and that made Yabu smile.

“No, you’ve got it.” Yabu told him, nudging him in the side with his elbow until he smiled. “You can win this! It’s down in the dungeon, and you were always better at Potions than me.”

“No I’m not!” Takaki exclaimed with a laugh. “I’m no good at Potions.”

“Okay.” Yabu allotted. “We both suck. But you’re still going to march into that dungeon and kick some ass.”

Which was why it was a shock when the next morning the entire campus, along with the champions, were called down to the Great Hall. Professor Kimura approached Takaki as he and Yabu entered the Hall, requesting that Takaki please come with him.

“Y-yeah, okay.” Takaki stammered back, about to let go of Yabu's hand when Professor Kimura fixed Yabu with a slightly scrutinizing stare and said after a moment of consideration,

“Yabu, you can come too.”

Yabu shared a perplexed look with his boyfriend as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher led them down the length of the Great Hall and into a small door on the left.

Whatever Yabu was expecting to be behind the door, what he received wasn't it. The champions from the other schools were already there, each standing and talking with their own set of adults. And then Takaki wasn't standing next to him anymore, barrelled over by a shorter woman with long hair that Yabu recognized instantly as Takaki's mother. Takaki's father was there too, nodding to Yabu in greeting before walking over to Takaki as well, probably to help disentangle his son.

“A school champion!” She exclaimed, pulling out of the hug to look over her son. She reached up, tucking a stray strand of hair behind his ear.

“Not really.” Takaki said, but neither of his parents would hear it.

“We got invited to be here for the final task.” Takaki's father explained. “You ready? How are you holding up?”

“I'm okay. Tired, a little.” Takaki chuckled slightly, smiling. That was an understatement; Yabu had been taking extra precautions to make sure Takaki didn’t push himself too hard. He looked a lot less stressed now than had when they’d walked into the Great Hall, and Yabu found himself very glad that Takaki's parents were here. It was exactly what he needed after so much hard work for so long.

“You make us so proud.” Takaki's mother told him, fussing still with his hair and his clothes. “Oh, look at my handsome boy.”

“Mom…” Takaki began in protest. He was blushing a little from the attention but he was beaming too, and Yabu couldn't help but chuckle a little. Takaki had always been a bit of a Mama’s boy, but Yabu couldn't blame him; he also found Takaki's mother to be a very lovely person.

As though able to hear his thoughts, she turned to face Yabu, looking serious.

“Has he been treating you right?” She asked, and Yabu laughed.

“He's been wonderful.” He answered earnestly, stepping up to join their little group. The champions were able to talk to their parents for a little over half an hour before all of the schools’ Headmasters entered the room, Headmaster Kitagawa asking them to please take a seat in the Hall for the commencement of the last Triwizard task. The champions were to remain in the room however, Yabu giving Takaki's hand a small squeeze before leaving the room and sitting down at the Hufflepuff table with the rest of his house, Takaki's parents sitting opposite him.  
Before too long, the champions and their Headmasters emerged. The Great Hall rang with applause, Yabu unable not to smile at how awkward Takaki looked, standing up in front of the entire school.

“This third and final Triwizard Task is going to be a schoolwide hunt. A multitude of puzzles, trials, and tests await the three of YOU, and carry throughout the whole of this magnificent castle. Now, we all have realized and recognize the advantage the Hogwarts champion has due to their knowledge of this building--” At that, Takaki pulled a face, Yabu grinning a little in an attempt not to laugh. He and Takaki still got lost throughout the castle sometimes. “--so each of you has been given a guide to provide help, or maybe an added challenge. Nikaido Takashi of Beauxbatons is in first place, and will therefore get a short time advantage. However, that doesn’t put any of the champions out of the running; the first champion to find the Triwizard Cup wins the Tournament!”

Each champion, side by side with their respective Headmasters, lined up in front of the giant double doors. After three blows of a whistle, three separate openings and closings of the doors to the Great Hall, Takaki disappeared out into the castle.

“Well?” Headmaster Kitagawa asked, turning back to the swath of students in front of him, all sitting with baited breath. “Mingle!”

Talk broke out immediately, everyone explosively eager to talk about the Third Task. Though they were told to mingle Yabu felt too anxious to stand, letting his friends come to him instead. Inoo walked over first, his leg bouncing nervously as he sat down, disgruntling his cat quite a bit, who jumped out of his lap to sit up on his shoulder.

“How do you think he'll do?” He asked, but Yabu was biting on his lip too hard to reply.

“Well?” Inoo asked again. Yabu shrugged.

“He’s fine. He’s fine, right? I mean, it’s in the castle. He’s in the castle, and there’s nothing that they could put in this castle that could, you know, hurt him, right?”

Inoo was incredibly silent and that certainly didn’t help.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“I didn’t say anything!” Inoo insisted, but he continued anyway. “I mean… Past headmasters have kept weird creatures in the castle before, that’s all. There was a three-headed dog on the third floor in 1991.”

“People have died.” Chinen chipped in.

“...great. Thanks.”

It was Yuto that approached him next, bouncing with excitement despite being unable to see the action. Usually Yuto’s boundless enthusiasm would bring a smile to Yabu’s face, but now the continuous motion made him nervous, and he couldn’t sit there for too long. He left the lanky fourth year with the rest of the Quidditch team and got up, sitting down with Daiki and Yamada. Daiki had been good at reassuring Takaki that he would survive through the Third Task, so maybe Daiki would be able to assure him of the same thing.

Unfortunately, Daiki was busy. Well, not really; snacks had been set out on all of the tables for the waiting spectators, and Daiki was doing a gag with each at a time to make Yamada laugh. It was working, Yamada grinning, giggling, and hanging on his arm. And Yabu did watch them for a while, but after a good fifteen minutes of sitting and staring it did begin feeling creepy, so he got to his feet once more. He realized at that moment that for some reason, despite the entire school being together in the Great Hall, he hadn’t seen Hikaru yet.

He couldn't find Hikaru at the Slytherin table. He wasn’t sitting with Inoo, or Daiki, or even Yuto. He wasn’t even sitting alone, Yabu milling around and hoping to catch a glimpse of his friend. When he finally did, he was met with a shocking sight, clamping a hand over his mouth to stifle a gasp and turning his back. He looked around to see if someone, anyone, had seen what he did, but nobody else was paying attention to the two people sitting behind the staff table.

One of them was the Hikaru he was looking for, and the other was Okamoto Keito. They were sitting behind the table together, their entwined hands sitting across Hikaru’s knees. When Yabu had looked over the two of them had been kissing, but the gesture had been quick and it was over now, both of them smiling a little.

“I know, and I’m sorry.” Hikaru was saying; he was looking at his hands. “I just… I don’t want--”

“But I don’t care about that.” Keito’s voice was more forceful than even he seemed to expect, looking a bit surprised by himself. “I just… It’s been a couple of months, and we’re still doing… This. We’re still…”

Months? Yabu’s eyebrows shot up his forehead. He’d expected something, maybe, between the two of them, a different relationship than the mentor-student one they claimed to have, but definitely not this hand-holding, kissing something that was sitting in front of him. And it had been going on for months, and Hikaru hadn’t said anything to any of them? Keito’s face was getting increasingly upset as he spoke, beginning to withdraw his hands, and it gave Yabu the sudden urge to step in and help.

“Hikaru?”

Both of them jumped horribly, Keito trying to pull away completely while Hikaru gripped his hands tighter, Yabu unsure what to think about that. He just stood there, waiting for one of them to say something, and when they didn’t and the silence stretched uncomfortably--despite the chattering in the background from the rest of the entire school--Yabu knew he had to speak up again.

“So… What’s going on? And… I saw you two. I’m sorry. What’s up Hikaru? Are the two of you… Dating, or something?”

Keito, quite frankly, looked terrified. Hikaru seemed nervous too, but he swallowed and looked Yabu in the eye with a determination that was nearly concerning. He expected Hikaru to tell him something extremely serious, but all he said was,

“Keito and I are dating.”

“You are?” Yabu came over to sit down in front of them, Keito both glancing over at Hikaru and looking as though he was trying very hard not to look at him. “How long has it been?”

“Uh… A while. But I really, really like him. I do.”

Both Keito and Hikaru were going redder by the second, but to Hikaru’s credit he wasn’t trying to laugh anything off.

“And you didn’t tell any of us? Why not?”

“I, um… I told this to Keito, but… He’s a Gryffindor and I’m a Slytherin and I’m just afraid that--”

Yabu raised his eyebrows, and Hikaru fell silent. Yabu had heard something like this before, during Hikaru's first year at Hogwarts when he noticed how little Slytherins mingled with the other House students. It hadn't been in reference to a romantic relationship, but their friendship instead. He frowned.

“Okay, but did you tell him the real reason?”

That had Keito looking fully at Hikaru, his eyes full of questions, and to Yabu that was enough of an answer. He sighed, getting to his feet and reaching down to ruffle his best friend’s hair.

“Listen, Hikaru. You’re an idiot. You know me, and you know I don’t mind. Yuya doesn’t mind, Inoo doesn’t mind… The important people in your life aren’t going to--”

“They’re not who I’m worried about.”

“Well, they’re the only people you should be worried about, alright? Screw your dad.” He knew Hikaru and Keito wanted to talk, so Yabu walked away to leave them to it, sitting back down with Inoo and Chinen.

Hikaru had struggled for a while with being a Slytherin. It wasn't the old prejudices and rivalries between the house that bothered him, or even looks he got from other students when he was in non-Slytherin places with their group of friends. The only comments that got to him were ones that reflected things Hikaru--and consequently, Yabu too--had heard his father say.

The very first week of school, during Hikaru's first year, he'd received a response from his family after telling them the news about his sorting and his classes. Yabu had been sitting right next to him, and it was still something Yabu didn't think he would ever be able to forget; an owl dropping a scarlet red letter in Hikaru's lap, and Hikaru's father's shouting voice projected incredibly loudly throughout the Great Hall. It was a Howler, full of scalding Slytherin hate speech, abrasive and painful to listen to. And all Yabu could do was watch his best friend, red-faced and shaking and waiting for it to be over. He'd put an arm around Hikaru's shoulders and told him not to listen, but when Hikaru came home on Christmas break to only his mother there and the news that his parents had gotten a divorce, Yabu knew the damage was done.

Though Hikaru's mentality about being a Slytherin had done nothing but improve over the years, he would still occasionally get inside his own head about it. While Yabu knew it wasn't his place to bring up something so personal in front of Keito the way he had, he could tell by the look on Keito's face that something needed to be said. If they'd really been--what, dating?--for months like they claimed, then the conversation was long overdue anyhow.

The Third Task seemed to drag on. In reality, Yabu was sure it didn't actually last thirty-five hours, probably closer to two at the most, but with Takaki--and now Hikaru as well--to worry about, time was barely dragging by. Inoo and Chinen were deep in conversation, scribbling things on a scrap of parchment and murmuring quietly to each other, so Yabu moved to sit with the Hufflepuff Quidditch team instead, listening to them talk excitedly about their expectations for the year to come.

Eventually, Hikaru did resurface from behind the staff table. He and Keito parted ways quickly after, and that would have been worrying except for the fact that Hikaru was beaming from ear to ear. Yabu hurried over, wanting desperately to talk about it, but he realized after a few waved off questions that Hikaru wasn't as eager on the topic as he was, so he settled for discussion about the players on the National Japanese Quidditch team instead. It wasn't until Yabu found himself in the middle of a pleasant but awkward conversation with Takaki's dad that something finally happened.

Nikaido burst from the side room leading off from the Great Hall. He was coughing and covered head to toe in soot, his robes slightly ripped and worse for wear, his hair a tangled mess. As soon as people saw him they fell silent, and after a few seconds it was so quiet in the Great Hall that Yabu could hear the Beauxbaton student's labored breathing. His eyes were darting around the Hall, looking for something, his face full of scrutiny and confusion.

Then his eyes locked on something in the air above the staff table and he ran forwards, his fingers closing into a fist around something just as Takaki burst through the door too, a slumped and gasping Akito stumbling through with him, looking pained and barely conscious, his arm over Takaki’s shoulder.

Instantly, the Triwizard cup appeared in Nikaido’s hand. Gasps and murmurs went through the Hall before everyone burst into applause. Nikaido simply stood there, looking stunned, looking at the blue and silver Triwizard cup as though he could barely believe it was real. Then a smile broke onto his face, holding the cup above his head as the rest of the Hall--along with the champions--cheered.


	24. Chapter 24

End of year exams were fast-approaching, but Yamada couldn’t find it in himself to care. He was too busy being happy to worry about the stresses school was bringing down upon the rest of the castle. Daiki was his boyfriend, perfect, wonderful Daiki, and as a result everything was right in the world.

That's how it felt, anyway. Every morning he woke up, expecting the joy to have finally faded, for the excitement to have worn off, but every morning he still felt like he was in the corner of the kitchens at the Hufflepuff Quidditch team’s party, Daiki's hands in his. Daiki had stared at him a few moments, long enough for Yamada to realize there was something his fellow Gryffindor wanted to say, falling silent. And then Daiki had asked him out. Or, he'd tried--as soon as Yamada had realized where the sentence was going he nodded and cut Daiki off with a kiss. Daiki had been taken aback by his enthusiasm but happy all the same, hugging him close with a laugh that made Yamada's heart soar.

He knew full well that he was acting starstruck, that nothing lasted forever and that nobody was perfect--though he felt Daiki was probably humanity's closest attempt at perfection so far--but he genuinely couldn't be bothered.

He probably wouldn't have prepared for final exams at all if not for his friends and their constant study groups. They met up in the library most of the time, when their group was small enough. When everyone came together, all of the friends of the friends, they resorted to sneaking into some empty classroom--usually scouted out ahead of time by Hikaru or Yuto--books and study guides in hand. While those get-togethers were easily the least productive, they were also the most fun.

True to what Daiki had said, the older students he'd begun hanging out with in the middle of the year were nice people. And now that Yamada had no reason to be jealous and irrationally angry at them, he quite enjoyed their company. They were already a close-knit group themselves, but they were kind and helpful and funny, and despite not knowing them for long, Yamada found himself quite disappointed that Takaki, Inoo, and Yabu were graduating at the fast-approaching end of the year.

“Please tell it to me again.” Yuto was begging. Takaki sighed, giving him an exasperated look.

“But I’ve told you about the Third Task five times already, at least!” He exclaimed back, trying to sound irritated, obviously amused by the younger student’s enthusiasm.

“But it’s so exciting!”

“Come on Yuya, we all know you love telling the story.” Yabu wheedled, and Yamada knew that Takaki was going to comply. He’d noticed that a gentle prod from Yabu was all Takaki needed to do most things. Takaki sighed again.

“Okay.” He agreed, everyone immediately dropping whatever it was they were working on to give him their rapt attention. The eyes on him had him faltering for a moment, and then he laughed.

“Well, as you all know, I was last to enter the scavenger hunt.” He said, getting nods back, the most vigorous one from Yuto. Yuto had probably heard Takaki’s retelling of the Third Task more than anyone there--with how much he bugged Takaki to tell it when they were all together, Yamada couldn’t imagine what it must be like in the Hufflepuff common room, where there was no way for Takaki to escape. “Because of how terrible I was at the Second Task.”

Yabu prodded his side, frowning slightly, but aside from a wriggle at the ticklish contact, Takaki didn’t much react to his protest.

“And as soon as I exited the Great Hall, a painting caught my attention.”

“Sir Cadogan!” Yuto exclaimed with a giggle.

“Do you want to tell the story?” Takaki asked him, raising an eyebrow. After a few vigorous head shakes, Yuto fell silent and Takaki continued.

“Yes, Sir Cadogan. That annoying knight that lives in that painting on the seventh floor, near the Divination classroom.”

Yamada glanced to his two Divination friends. Yuto was still vibrating in excitement, but Keito had this look on his face now, and Yamada resisted a laugh. He’d heard stories about Sir Cadogan from the both of them. He was a round, short knight who would sooner befriend you or fight you than look at you--and sometimes would do all three at once.

“Headmaster Kitagawa said that the guides would either help or… Or not help, and Sir Cadogan was definitely the second one.” Takaki rubbed his face with his hands roughly for a few moments. “I thought he was leading me to the first clue, so for a good fifteen minutes I followed him to the Astronomy tower because he wanted my help resolving a duel between himself and another painting. Which was a painting of an apple sitting on a stool. He said the painting was ignoring him, and had looked at him the wrong way.” He gave a long sigh, but he smiled as they laughed.

“There were puzzles in every corridor. Some of them were as easy as remembering a simple spell, and others were harder than the passwords to the Ravenclaw common room, with a few hex breaking sections--I phased through a wall at one point?--and I had to use Floo Powder to get through the castle every once and awhile. Every time I did I hoped I’d lost Sir Cadogan, but he was always just right behind me, loud and clanking and yelling for me to wait up. And each puzzle had a clue, directing me somewhere I needed to go; I think I probably walked the length of the whole castle. But eventually we made it to the dungeons, where I’m sure all of you guys had seen stuff about the Third Task already.”

Everyone nodded, Yamada nodding with them. It had been hard to ignore the all of the Ministry officials they’d seen bustling about after their Potions lessons.

“I saw them bringing the Triwizard Cup down there.” Chinen said. “How did it end up on the staff table?”

“Well, what you probably saw looked like one.” Takaki told him. “When I got down to the dungeons, the other two champions were already there. Akito had been hit with a really bad Rictusempra charm at some point; he was crying and wheezing, and it took both me and Nikaido at the same time to break it. Sir Cadogan finally left, thankfully, and we started forward together. It felt a little weird, because we’re supposed to be competing and all that, but…” He trailed off, shrugging. “We opened a door, coming across a room full of tables and shelves. I’d never seen it before, and every inch of surface had a Triwizard Cup on it. We just each grabbed the one closest to us, but they were actually each full of potions, and they stuck to our hands until we drank them. My potion changed the way my voice sounded, so that wasn’t too bad. Nikaido got an Invigoration Draught, which was lucky, but Akito…” Takaki frowned. “Akito really could have won if he hadn’t had such bad luck. He was already weak from having been under Rictusempra for so long, and then he got a Dizziness Draught. I helped him walk.”

Yabu was beaming at his boyfriend’s kindness, and Yamada felt surprised by the gesture. He wasn’t sure that he would have done that--and lost the glory as a result--for someone he didn’t know well, when winning something like the Triwizard Tournament was on the line.

“There were more challenges in the dungeon, but it was really Nikaido that worked them out since he was walking ahead. We reached the last fireplace and the last cup of Floo Powder together, but I told him to go ahead, since we wouldn’t have made it through without him.”

Yamada nodded a bit. They’d seen the rest of it, seen Nikaido win the Tournament, Takaki watching with a smile on his face and Akito slumped over his shoulder. Maybe it was the way their champion had reacted, with no trace of bitterness, that hadn’t really made the loss feel like much of a loss at all, but simply a resolution.

“And then it was over.” Takaki finished. As much as Yamada would have loved to hear a full version of the events, going through the whole scavenger hunt had taken hours, and a retelling would probably also take about that long. “It still hasn’t really settled in that it’s actually over; I haven’t really relaxed yet. Especially with N.E.W.T.S. coming up so fast.”

That sentence seemed to remind everyone of what they were supposed to be doing in the empty classroom, turning distractedly back to what they were supposed to be working on before Takaki had begun speaking. Everyone remembered all at once that yes, they had important exams, but Yamada would much rather count Daiki’s eyelashes than count how many ginger roots were needed in a Wit-Sharpening potion.

As a result he ended up guessing on that question, but he found that for his Potions exam, ginger roots were really the least of his problems. Thankfully though, that exam happened to be his most difficult one. The others weren’t nearly as bad, the tests going better as the week wore on, and Yamada exited his last exam that Friday feeling confident that at the very least, he’d managed to pass everything.

“Ah, that Care of Magical Creatures exam was a breeze!” Daiki said happily, opening his arms for Yamada to come sit next to him on the common room couch. He peppered Yamada’s cheeks with feather light kisses in greeting, not letting up until Yamada was giggling too much to tell him to hey, cut it out already. “How did your History of Magic exam go?”

“It was fine.” Yamada reported after a moment. “I probably missed some of the finer points, but all Goblin wars are pretty much the same.”

Daiki just gave him an amused expression at that, playing with the fingers on Yamada’s left hand.

“When do you want to head down to the feast?” He asked. The End of Year feast was that night, their last dinner in the Hogwarts castle for the year. It wasn’t set to start for another half hour, so they stayed on the couch for a good fifteen minutes, discussing summer plans, and when and how they could see each other over the break. They headed to the Great Hall hand-in-hand and upon reaching the Gryffindor table they were surprised to see that they weren’t the only couple sitting there. Keito was there too, straddling the bench, and Yaotome Hikaru was with him, holding both of Keito’s hands in his own. They were smiling and talking to each other, going quiet when Yamada and Daiki approached. Yamada was too surprised to speak, watching as Hikaru got to his feet, ruffling Keito’s hair and beaming before walking away towards the Slytherin table.

“...what?!” Daiki said immediately, sitting down and leaning across the table as far as he could, his curious face inches from Keito’s own red one. Keito didn’t answer, burying his face in his hands instead. He was like that for a good couple of minutes, but when he reemerged his blush hadn’t faded in the slightest.

“We’re, um… Dating.” The last word was more of a squeak than anything, Daiki drawing back with an exaggerated gasp.

“Dating as in _dating_, as in you and Hikaru dating?” Daiki asked quickly, loudly, getting looks from the students around them. Keito’s face was burning, but he nodded, even beginning to smile.

“Oh no.” Daiki squished the sides of his face in his hands. “It’s so cute. It’s so cute I can’t stand it.”

“How did this happen?” Yamada asked, Daiki gasping in inspiration.

“Hikaru is his Defense Against the Dark Arts tutor, I guess they…” He grinned, Yamada unable not to laugh, Keito stuttering out protests.

“No! Well I mean, I guess…” He trailed off, and for a moment he looked nervous. “What do you guys think?”

“What do you mean?” Yamada asked back. Keito fumbled for a moment with his words.

“About, you know, me dating Hikaru?”

“Hm…” Daiki crossed his arms importantly, trying to sit as tall as possible on the bench and fixing Keito with a stern look. “Do you like him?”

Keito nodded, looking back at Daiki uncertainly.

“Does he treat you well? He's nice to you and stuff?”

Keito nodded again, and the smile was back on Daiki's face.

“Then we're happy for you!”

“Really?”

Keito seemed genuinely surprised by Daiki's assessment, and Yamada frowned.

“Why wouldn't we be?” He asked, and after a moment Keito shrugged.

“I just… It’s just that for a little while, we--”

Whatever Keito was saying--or trying to say, he was doing a good amount of mumbling and stuttering--was cut off as Headmaster Kitagawa got to his feet.

“Welcome!” He exclaimed, spreading his arms to the Great Hall. “Welcome all, to the End of Year Feast!”

Yamada took a moment to look around the Hall, taking it in. There was a fair amount of gold in the room, from the empty plates and platters weighing on the tables to the lights from the hundreds of floating candles, to the banners strung from the rafters. Between winning the Quidditch Cup and the points Takaki had acquired through the Triwizard Tournament, it was no surprise to see the black and gold badger of Hufflepuff House waving, that house having gotten the most House points throughout the year.

“Before we eat, I have a few words I’d like to say.” The Headmaster began, smiling down at everyone. “First, of course, I would like to thank our wonderful guests, the lovely students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, for staying with us throughout this year.”

Applause went up from the Hogwarts students, lead by the teachers at the staff table and traveling throughout the room. The foreign students, sitting at the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables, smiled around at everyone, Yamada looking around and noticing that the only ones he’d come to recognize, the two champions from the other schools, weren’t sitting with the masses.

“Secondly, I would like to congratulate Hufflepuff House on their win of the House Cup with a total of 512 points!”

Another round of applause went up, a near-explosion of cheers going off at the Hufflepuff table. Yamada looked over to find Yuto's happy face, and as he did he noticed that their Hogwarts champion, Takaki Yuya, was also missing from the Great Hall. He leaned in to Daiki, ready to ask him about it, but Daiki simply leaned back and kissed him on the side of the head and Yamada completely forgot to speak after he opened his mouth. But the mystery was solved quickly, Headmaster Kitagawa speaking again.

“And finally, it is with great pleasure that I present to you for the final time: our Triwizard Champions!”

A few different people stepped up at once. The Ministry officials stood from the staff table, Imai Tsubasa holding the Triwizard Cup and Matsuoka Masahiro holding a purple sack with golden drawstrings, and it jingled so loudly that Yamada could hear it from his seat, even over the excited applause as the three champions walked out to stand on the Headmaster's other side. All of them were smiling, Akito waving around at everyone. Nikaido looked a little nervous. Takaki looked as though he was trying very hard to act casual.

“These three young wizards have shown incredible wit, skill, and bravery throughout the year, and all of them have much to be proud of.”

Loud and solitary applause sounded from the Hufflepuff table, all eyes going to Yabu. He stopped abruptly, looking surprised that no one else had clapped, ducking his head apologetically. Up at the front, Takaki flushed. The Headmaster looked quite amused, continuing.

“And tonight we are congratulating the winner of this year's Tournament, Nikaido Takashi from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic!”

Now was the time for the applause, Yamada joining in as a red-faced Nikaido was given the Cup and thousand Galleon prize money, a few fireworks exploding throughout the Hall with the wave of Headmaster Kitagawa’s wand. It was long before the cheers finally settled, the Beauxbaton students still clapping from the Ravenclaw table as the Headmaster finished his announcements, brandishing his arms out wide.

“Please, everyone; eat!”


	25. Chapter 25

Keito had completely missed the arrival of the visiting schools, so he was glad to be able to watch them leave, the foreign students getting into their respective modes of transportation the next morning. The Durmstrang students left first, climbing aboard the large and magnificent ship that had sailed lazy circles around the Black Lake the past year. It was sent off with a waving crowd, sinking slowly underwater as they sailed away from the castle. The Beauxbatons horses stamped and whinnied as they were harnessed to their large white carriage; huge and magnificent, Keito found them rather frightening, leaning closer to his boyfriend’s side as they beat their giant wings. Heavy gusts of wind were buffeted down onto the Hogwarts students as they took to the air, their fairy tale carriage in tow. Keito had forgotten that Hikaru hadn’t seen the arrivals of the other schools either, still talking animatedly about what they had all just witnessed as they got into a carriage that would take them to the Hogwarts Express station.

“We were all there.” Inoo deadpanned, Hikaru throwing him a look while Daiki laughed. “We were all there twice.”

“No, I missed it the first time!” Hikaru exclaimed back at him, and Keito watched for a moment as Daiki’s eyes narrowed. Then he let out a shout, scaring everyone and pointing in Keito’s direction.

“You got stuck in the staircase!”

“...what?” Keito asked him.

“You missed the arrivals of the other schools too because you were stuck! When you came back, you kept looking over at the Slytherin table.” His voice was near accusatory, pointing quickly between Keito and Hikaru, and Keito felt his cheeks begin to burn.

“I thought he was just trying to see what the Durmstrang students looked like.” Yamada said, his eyebrows raised. Hikaru gave Keito a highly amused look.

“You didn’t tell your friends I saved your life?”

“No.” Keito mumbled, Hikaru laughing out loud and putting an arm around his shoulders. The contact was nice. Keito wasn’t used to it though, the excited looks he got from his friends certainly not helping keep a blush off his face. Hikaru retracted his arm when the carriage came to a stop, keeping a slight distance as they moved through all of the other students on the platform ending up in a train compartment with Yabu, Takaki, and Yuto. Keito kept his hands to himself too, knowing full well that if he reached over and held Hikaru’s hand his boyfriend wouldn’t pull away, but it wasn’t something that he would want. Before a few days ago it really would have hurt, but with the talk they’d had the afternoon of the Third Task, Keito was beginning to understand Hikaru’s fears.

Keito was the one that had brought the conversation up. The sneaking around, while fun at first, wasn’t fun anymore. It was exhausting and upsetting instead, and Keito could feel the strain it was putting on his relationship. It simply wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted to be like Yamada and Daiki, hugging and smiling and holding hands whenever and wherever they felt like it. He couldn’t stand not being able to show his affections, especially since he liked Hikaru so much, so he’d gone over to the Slytherin table as soon as Headmaster Kitagawa had set them free to talk and asked if they could go somewhere private. It had been hard to find a place--Keito was sure they weren’t actually allowed behind the staff table at all--but he cared more about the conversation than the repercussions.

Hikaru had apologized. He’d been full of apologies and soft smiles, but apologies weren’t enough anymore, upsetting him all over again, making him feel instead that Hikaru wasn’t listening to him, or taking him seriously. But then when Yabu had found them, and Hikaru hadn’t let him retract his hands, Keito realizing he’d been wrong. And then they’d talked. He could tell it was all hard for Hikaru to say, to tell him about, but it was also hard for Keito to listen to. He didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t know what to do because while he felt for Hikaru, he couldn’t easily sympathize. He hadn’t gone through life without any abuse--all kids could be mean--but none of it was close to what Hikaru had endured, especially from someone that was supposed to love, accept, and support like a father should.

Keito had never imagined being anything other than a Gryffindor, because his dad said he would be, and Keito had believed him. Despite that though, he still had the feeling that if he’d been anything else, he would have been loved just the same. The alternative was a terrifying thought, and while talking through it with Hikaru had been exhausting and had made him angry, he was glad that he knew.

Having Yabu, Yuto, and Hikaru all in the compartment together turned the conversation quickly towards Quidditch. Despite having graduated, Yabu was still heavily invested in the future of his team and it showed, talking about who he’d submitted for consideration for captain for the next year and going over some training tactics with Yuto that he hadn’t gotten to share. Hikaru nodded for a few moments. He’d fallen silent.

“I heard…” He began, eyes turning to him. He had a small smile on his face, but he looked nervous. “I heard that I was being considered for captain of the Slytherin team next year.”

“Woah, really?” Takaki asked, Yabu reaching over to hit him in the chest while Yuto laughed. Takaki began laughing too, waving his hands in front of his face, and Hikaru raised an amused eyebrow in his direction.

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Takaki exclaimed quickly. “I don’t mean you’ll be bad, or anything!”

“...right.” Hikaru was obviously teasing, no offense in the smile on his face, and Keito giggled a little. “Takaki, I know you’ll be gone next year, so if there are any opinions you’ve wanted to tell me, now’s the time.”

“No, you’ll be good. Really!” Takaki insisted. Yabu nodded along, and Yuto too, but to Keito’s surprise Hikaru looked a bit doubtful.

“You think?” He finally asked, after a few moments. “I don’t know. I’m just nervous, I guess; I’m not sure people would listen to me.”

“What do you mean?” Yuto asked him. “I’d do anything you told me.”

A few more raised eyebrows, Hikaru holding his hand up with a chuckle.

“Slow your roll there, kid.” He said, and Yuto blushed a little, opening his mouth to defend himself before Hikaru spoke again. “I just mean… I’m the jokester on the team, you know? I wouldn’t know how to get them to take me seriously.”

“Just… Act serious.” Yabu proposed, Hikaru giving him a look.

“Thanks for the groundbreaking advice.” He deadpanned, Keito reaching his hand up to rub Hikaru’s upper arm.

“I think you’d be a great captain.” He said, and Hikaru looked back at him with that small, slightly disbelieving smile that always made Keito feel like he was glowing.

From the corner of his eye, Keito saw Yabu raise his hand to his mouth, causing him to look over. Yabu was staring at them.

“What?” Hikaru asked after a few moments, but he already looked embarrassed.

“I have known you for years, and I’ve never seen you smile like that.” Yabu said, and he was beginning to smile too. “Never ever.”

“Shut up.” Hikaru grumbled, just before a loud bang broke the air. It sounded muffled and a little distant, but undoubtedly close enough to have happened somewhere within the train.

“What was that?” Yuto asked them, but nobody had answers, so he got to his feet and exited the apartment, promising to come back with news. Yabu also stood up.

“I'm curious too!” He defended against the curious looks, Takaki laughing and getting up to follow him.

“Do you want to go see what it was?” Keito asked. Hikaru shrugged.

“It was probably just a dungbomb or something.” He said. He relaxed his shoulders a little, wrapping one arm around Keito. “So… Did you say that because you I’d actually make a good captain, or because you wanted to look cute in front of my friends?” The question was teasing, and it made Keito laugh a little.

“Both?” He tried, and Hikaru laughed back. “No, really though. You taught me so well! You could lead a team.”

“Yeah?” Hikaru leaned in, Keito closing the distance and pressing his forehead to Hikaru’s. Hikaru beamed at him. “You think so?”

“I think you’re just looking for compliments now.” Keito said quietly, and Hikaru began to giggle, Keito giggling with him as Hikaru pressed a quick kiss to his lips.

“Otter!” Their compartment door slammed open, causing Keito to jump horribly and Hikaru to lurch away from him. Yuto however, looked completely unbothered.

“...sorry?” Hikaru asked after the world’s longest moment of silence.

“An otter.” Yuto said again, coming into the compartment. “Apparently that’s what caused the banging noise, somehow; there’s an otter somewhere on the train.”

“Really?” Hikaru looked interested now, and Keito was too. An owl, a cat, or a toad would make sense, but what was an otter doing on the train?

Everyone was looking for it, the three of them joining in to help the search. Whatever otter this was--Yuto claiming to have seen the little river creature in Chinen’s compartment--had managed to slip away from the entire student body, and all too soon they’d reached King’s Cross Station.

After getting promises from all his friends that they would all write each other over the summer holidays and well-wishes from those he didn’t know as well, Keito was standing with Hikaru, each of them with one hand on their luggage. Keito could tell that Hikaru was gearing up to tell him goodbye, but he wasn’t ready for that yet.

“Would it be okay if you met my dad?” Keito asked him. Hikaru froze.

“Your dad?” He asked back after a moment. Keito nodded.

“I’ve been writing to him all year, and he sort of already knows about you, so…” Keito took Hikaru’s free hand and began pulling him, and thankfully he came along without argument. There was a lightpost Keito always met his father at after a debacle of getting lost at King’s Cross after his first year, and once they’d gotten close enough for Keito to catch sight of the man he was looking for, Hikaru stopped on his tracks.

“What?” Keito asked, nervous now.

“I just never realized… I don’t know why I never put together who your dad would be.” Hikaru mumbled. “Okamoto Kenichi.”

Keito raised his eyebrows. Yuto had made a big deal of meeting his dad the first time as well, but Keito never really understood why. Sure, he had a cool job at the Ministry--he’d been in the Daily Prophet a number of times--but really, the man was a giant dork.

It was too late for Hikaru to pull out of it though; they’d been spotted. Kenichi waved, smiling and walking over.

“He’ll like you, I promise.” Keito told him quickly, but he could tell Hikaru didn’t believe him at all.

“Hey!” His father’s voice was loud and happy, and Keito had to hug him. He looked the same as he had the last time Keito had seen him, dressed in another dark Muggle suit, but this time he’d let his hair down and Keito noticed, when his dad pulled back to put an arm around his shoulders, that he was wearing the cuff links he’d been given for Christmas.

Kenichi didn’t say anything more, his eyes scrutinizing as he looked over Hikaru, holding up his hand for silence when Keito tried to speak. Hikaru looked afraid, one hand curled into a nervous fist, the other in a death grip on his luggage trolley. To his credit though, he held Kenichi’s gaze.

“So.” Kenichi began. “You’re that Slytherin boy that’s dating my son?”

For a fleeting moment, Keito was concerned. Hikaru nodded.

“Yes sir.”

“Then you should be a little mad at him,” Kenichi said, pointing a finger at Keito, “because you are much cuter than he gave you credit for in his letters.” He held a hand out. “I’m Okamoto Kenichi, it’s fantastic to meet you.”

Hikaru blushed scarlet, returning the handshake hastily.

“Thank… you?” He said hesitantly, causing Kenichi to burst into a loud laugh. “I’m Yaotome Hikaru.”

“Trust me, I’ve heard.” Kenichi told him, with an exaggerated head tilt in Keito’s direction, who was trying hard to not let his dad embarrass him. He wasn’t succeeding. “I also remember him telling me that you’re on the Slytherin Quidditch team, is that correct?”

“Seeker.” Hikaru confirmed with a nod.

“I was a Beater for the Gryffindor team, back in my day.” Kenichi said, a slightly self-important tone in his voice that had both Keito and Hikaru laughing a little. “That’s why they’re so bad now, you know. Because I left.”

“C’mon Dad, you left a hundred years ago.” Keito countered, Kenichi immediately crossing his arms in protest.

“I hope he treats you with more respect than he treats me.” He told Hikaru, who laughed. He was still visibly nervous, but he looked a little less like a cornered animal.

“He’s really, really great.” He answered earnestly, Keito biting his lip in an attempt to keep himself from smiling. Slightly in the distance and over Kenichi’s shoulder, a woman waved in their direction, Hikaru quickly waving back.

“My mother is here.” He explained, replacing his hand on the handle to his luggage trolley. “I should probably go.”

“Alright.” Kenichi said, while Keito tried not to feel too put out. “The two of you have each others’ addresses, right? Stay in contact, because I sometimes take Keito on trips with me and I’m pretty sure you’d be able to tag along.”

“Oh!” Hikaru looked surprised, but thankfully it looked like pleasant surprise. “Okay. It was great meeting you, thank you.”

“You too kid. And listen,” Kenichi reached over, clapping Hikaru lightly on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. Green is a good color on you.”

“I… Thank you, sir.” Hikaru’s fist was clenched again, but it didn’t look to be from nerves this time, Keito reaching down to touch his hand.

“Oh, I see.” Kenichi grinned, his eyebrows raised. “I’ll give you two a moment.”

His tone had Keito flushing, wanting to tell him to shut up, but he was already gone, walking away and whistling with his hands in his pockets.

“So… That’s my dad.” Keito said lamely, but when Hikaru looked up from the ground, Keito thought his eyes looked slightly watery.

“He’s awesome.” Hikaru said with a quick nod. “But of course he is; he raised you.”

“Hey, don’t say things like that when you have to leave.” Keito protested, his objection cut short when Hikaru leaned close and kissed him, catching him completely off guard. Keito had expected a hug at the most, as surrounded as they were by their peers. And maybe that was it, maybe it was because of the anonymity of the crowd around them that Hikaru had kissed him, but he wasn’t about to complain.

“I’m going to miss you, so make sure you write to me, okay?” Hikaru said. His face had gone pink, and Keito nodded.

“Of course I will.”

After a few more smiles and one last hug, Hikaru was off with his mother, and Kenichi was walking back over.

“You picked a good one.” He remarked, taking Keito’s trolley from him to push it. “I like him.”

“Me too.” Keito said, earning him an amused eyebrow raise.

“Now, you on the other hand,” Kenichi started loudly, bringing Keito’s attention back to himself, “I am mad with you.”

“What?” Keito asked quickly. “Why?”

“You didn’t tell me anything about the Third Task!” His father exclaimed back at him. “I only know who won because we get the Daily Prophet delivered and I can read. I want all of the details!”

Keito laughed, the two of them stepping together from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters as he began telling the tale.


End file.
